Supreme Court rejects appeal from 3 convicts
JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has turned down an appeal from three men convicted for a murder in March 1987, even though another person has since forward admitting to the murder.
In the case between Lingah (51 years old) , Pacah (43) and Sumir (33) against the state, the supreme court upheld the guilty verdict passed by the Ketapang District Court in West Kalimantan and endorsed the sentences -- 12 years for Lingah and 11 years each for the other two.
The three men were found guilty by the lower court, in December 1987, of murdering Pamor, 72 years old. The high court later upheld the verdict.
Two years ago, encouraged by court testimony in which a man confessed to have committed the murder, the three men filed for a review of their case with the supreme court.
Asun, who was standing trial for the rape and murder of Simulan, Pacah's daughter, confessed that he murdered Pamor in 1987.
Supreme Court Secretary General Toton Suprapto, in announcing the verdict yesterday, said the court had some doubts about the sincerity of Asun's confession to the 1987 murder.
"The supreme court cannot release the three convicts because Asun gave inconsistent testimony in court," Toton, who is also the court's clerk in the trial, told reporters.
The hearing of the appeal was presided over by M. Djaelani, the supreme court's Deputy Chief Justice, and assisted by two justices R. Mohamad Iman and Palti Radja Siregar.
The supreme court's team had asked Asun once again during the hearing whether or not he did in fact commit the murder as he had confessed in court.
Asun responded that he had not committed the murder but had made the confession at the urging of Sumir when they were put in the same penitentiary house.
Yet in one trial hearing in the lower court, he said he had carried out the murder at the behest of another criminal.
Given Asun's lack of credibility, the supreme court decided that the guilty verdicts against the three men stood, Toton said.
Asun's testimony, made during the trial of the rape and murder case of Simulan, could not be used as evidence for the murder case of Pamor because they were two separate cases, Toton said.
Asked whether there could be a possibility that the court may have jailed innocent people, Toton said that based on the evidence presented, the supreme court is convinced that the lower court has made the right decision.
He added there could be a possibility of a new investigation if there is sufficient evidence to support Asun's testimony.
The case of Lingah, Pacah and Sumir drew national attention after Asun's confession to the murder. Their lawyers -- Akil Mochtar, Tamsil Syoekur and Alamuddin -- quickly applied for a review of the case and urged the supreme court to order the release of their clients pending the outcome of the appeal.
Freedom did not come until September this year when they were given conditional release, not because of the order from the supreme court but because they had served two-third of their terms, which qualified them for parole.
Although no longer serving time, they had pressed for their case at the supreme court to have their names and reputation reinstated. The court's ruling, announced yesterday, reiterated their status as convicted murderers although they do not have to go back to jail.
The supreme court has been sharply criticized from many quarters, including the National Commission on Human Rights, for dragging its feet in handling the murder case, especially in view that the court may have convicted the wrong people.
They drew analogy with the celebrated case of Sengkon and Karta, two men convicted for a murder in 1980 but released after spending six years in jail when the authorities found the real murderers. (imn)