Severe sentences sought for Beng Seng's killers

Severe sentences sought for Beng Seng's killers

JAKARTA (JP): The prosecutor has demanded that the two
defendants on trial at the North Jakarta District Court for
killing a business tycoon be sentenced to life and 21 years in
prison respectively.

"It has been proven that the killing of Nyo Beng Seng, also
known as Darmansyah Sujadi, was premeditated and committed by the
defendants. The defendants are clearly guilty of violating
Article 340 of the Criminal Code," prosecutor James Pardede said
yesterday.

"I urge the presiding judge to sentence Agiono Safran to life
imprisonment and Suhartono, who is also known as Atok, to 21
years in jail," Pardede told Judge Soemarjono.

He said Agiono was a repeat offender, citing a similar crime
committed in 1979.

The prosecutor charged that the defendants and several other
suspects now still at large were hired by Hong Lie, Beng Seng's
business competitor, to carry out the murder. Hong Lie, now
reportedly staying in Singapore, has been listed by the City
Police as "most wanted".

Nyo Beng Seng was killed at his second wife's house in Pluit
Kencana Raya, North Jakarta, on April 15, 1994.

He was an owner of a leading recording company, PT Irama Tara,
as well as several massage parlors and night clubs in Jakarta. He
was also a contact person for Indonesians who wanted to gamble at
exclusive gambling places overseas, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong,
and Australia.

Pardede argued that according to witnesses, Agiono and Atok,
as well as the other suspects still at large, Ahak, Barki, Mono,
and Yudi, planned the murder on April 13 during a meeting in
Ancol, North Jakarta.

On April 14, they went to Beng Seng's second wife's mansion to
carry out the plan.

There they saw Beng Seng leaving for his night club in Mangga
Besar. So, Ahak and Mono followed him and kept a close watch on
him until Beng Seng left the night club. In the meanwhile,
Agiono, Atok, Barki and Yudi waited for him in front of the
mansion.

When Beng Seng left for home at approximately 1:30 a.m., Ahak
called Atok through a radio paging system to inform him that "the
bird is coming".

When Beng Seng arrived at his home, Agiono and Atok confronted
him in the yard and stabbed him several times.

Pardede said that according to the autopsy done by Dr.
Siswandi Sudiono from the Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital, Beng
Seng's death was caused by injuries to his right and left chest.

Both Agiono and Atok admitted that they stabbed the victim,
but denied that the stabbing had been planned beforehand. They
insisted that they meant only to confront Beng Seng, but panicked
when Beng Seng began shouting "robbers". They also argued that
they were forced to stab Beng Seng in a self defense because Beng
Seng was trying to take a weapon from his car. But the defendants
did not specify the kind of the weapon they thought he had. (29)