Supreme Court rejects appeal from 3 convicts

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)