Seaman faces 3 years in jail over marijuana

Seaman faces 3 years in jail over marijuana

JAKARTA (JP): A seaman who failed to fulfill his dream of
making the long trip to Kalimantan with 800 grams of dried
marijuana was brought to trial at the North Jakarta District
Court on Tuesday.

According to prosecutor Elly Rachmawati, Agus Usman, 38,
deserved a three-year jail sentence and a Rp 3 million (US$400)
fine for possession of the marijuana.

The defendant, Elly said, was caught red-handed in possession
of a plastic bag packed with the drug by two police officers at
Tanjung Priok Port on July 19.

"The defendant planned to consume the drug on his sea trip to
Kalimantan," she told the court.

Agus, she added, purchased the marijuana for Rp 400,000 from a
man, identified only as Dadang, on Jl. Kartini, Central Jakarta
the same day. The latter is still at large.

Agus told the court presided over by Judge Mansur Nasir that
he and his fellow crew members planned to consume the marijuana
themselves "to pass the time".

"I had no plan to resell it," he said.

The defendant said that it was his first purchase of marijuana
after his friends on the ship introduced him to the drug.

"I regret this and promise not to do it again. I hope my
sentence will be shortened," he pleaded, adding that he had not
met his wife and their three children since the arrest.

Elly charged the defendant under Article 78 of Law No. 22/1997
on narcotics which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in
jail and a fine of up to Rp 500 million.

The judge adjourned the trial until next week to consider the
sentence. (jun)