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)