Six 'Gurita'-sinking suspects to stand trial Tuesday

JAKARTA (JP): Two of six people allegedly responsible for the Gurita ferry accident that killed more than 300 people in Aceh in January are to be tried in a local court on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26.

Another three suspects are still under police investigation, while the sixth is sick, one of the defense lawyers said Thursday.

Mulyadi, from the O.C. Kaligis law firm, said the chief of Banda Aceh's branch office of PT ASDP, the state-owned shipping company which operated the ferry, and the administrator of Malahayati port have been charged with the premeditated murder of 338 passengers. Their names have not been released.

They will be tried under Section 338 of the Penal Code which carries up to 15 years imprisonment.

The 28.8-meter-long and 7.82-meter-wide ferry sank off the coast of Aceh on Jan. 19 with 377 people on board and 78,207 tons of cargo while traveling from Banda Aceh to Sabang.

Only 55 bodies were found and 283 others are still missing. Thirty-nine passengers survived the disaster. The Gurita was the only ferry serving the route.

According to regulations, the ship was designed to carry a maximum of 73 tons of cargo, including the 210 passengers and 17 crew members, though 15 percent leeway in weight was allowed.

Mulyadi told The Jakarta Post that the office would send three lawyers to Banda Aceh to represent the defendants along with two local counselors.

He said the trial would be presided over by judge Rapotan Harahap, the chief of the Banda Aceh District Court. He also said that more than 30 witnesses would testify in the trial.

According to Mulyadi, the defense lawyers will challenge the charge because the Jakarta-based Shipping Court, in its verdict in May, concluded that the captain of the ill-fated ferry was the only one responsible for the tragedy.

The Shipping Court also ruled that the ship was encountering bad weather when it sank.

However, a police investigation concluded that the day before it set off from Malahayati on the Aceh mainland to the island of Sabang, the vessel was leaking.

The leak was patched up with plain cement which was not completely dry when the ferry began its journey. (05)