Six minors tried for killing student

Six minors tried for killing student

JAKARTA (JP): Six junior high school students were indicted at
a closed-to-public trial at the Central Jakarta District Court
yesterday, charged with mobbing a senior high school student to
death.

Prosecutor M. Roskanedi said the defendants, aged between 15
and 18, were charged under Article 170 of the Criminal Code which
has a maximum penalty of 12 years in jail.

The youths standing trial were identified as Andi Burhanuddin
alias Boang, Cipta Wahyudi, Gidion Oktavianus Silitonga, Novaya
Zemlya Valentino, Avin Libert Ariganda Siagian and Muhamad Taufik
Hidayat.

According to presiding judge Sumantri, the trial was closed to
the public since most of the defendants are minors.

Prosecutor Roskanedi said the defendants, along with some of
their classmates, were on the way home in a truck after attending
a farewell party at a private junior high school on Jl. Prapatan
in Central Jakarta.

The victim, identified as Sawaludin, and his colleagues
suddenly started throwing stones at the defendants' group on the
truck without any clear reason, said the prosecutor.

When the truck stopped at a nearby traffic light, the students
got down and chased their attackers, he said.

"The victim's friends managed to escape but Sawaludin was
surrounded by the junior high school students," he said.

The prosecutor said Wahyudi beat Sawaludin with a shovel,
Valentino hit him with a wooden stick, and Gidion struck out with
a steel bar.

Roskanedi said the victim was then stabbed by Boang with a
samurai sword before Libert and Taufik hit Sawaludin with bricks.

The victim died on the spot, he said.

The postmortem examination result from the Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital stated that the cause of death was serious
bleeding, he said.

Presiding judge Abas Sumantri adjourned the trial until next
week to hear the defendants' lawyer's statement.

At the beginning of this month, the same court sentenced a
senior high school student and six other students to between four
years and two years in jail respectively for their involvement in
mobbing another student to death.

At least nine students have been killed in separate brawls in
the city this year. (jun)