Student tried for Ecstasy

JAKARTA (JP): A student was accused at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday of trafficking in 120 Ecstasy pills.

The 21-year defendant, a resident of Gang Puri Mas in Gambir subdistrict, was arrested in May while counting the Ecstasy pills in a car, prosecutor Astoeti told the court.

"He was about to sell the pills to two friends," she said.

Police investigations found that the suspect had bought the pills from a friend named Andi for Rp 39,000 each. He was planning to sell them at Rp 40,000 each, the prosecutor said.

The suspect is charged under the 1992 Health Law which prohibits the production and distribution of dangerous drugs not registered with the Ministry of Health.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp 300 million (US$130,000).

The defendant, accompanied by his lawyer Nazori Do'ak Achmad, will present his defense at the next trial, scheduled for Friday.

As Ecstasy does not fall under the definition of narcotics, those found in possession or guilty of trafficking in them cannot be prosecuted under the 1976 Anti-Narcotic Law in which the maximum penalty is death.

The House of Representatives is currently deliberating a government-sponsored bill on psychotropic drugs which, if enacted, will allow law enforcers to deal more effectively with the Ecstasy menace. (07)