Surabaya family gets reprieve

JAKARTA (JP): The East Java provincial prosecutors' office has suspended the execution of a family of three convicted of murder, giving them a second chance to seek presidential clemency.

The execution has been postponed until the President replies to the clemency request, chief of the local prosecutors' office, Soedjono C. Atmonegoro, said yesterday.

J.A. Prayitno, his wife Sumiarsih and son Sugeng have been on death row since Feb. 20, 1989, when the Surabaya district court found them guilty of murdering Lt. Col. Purwanto and four of his family members on Aug. 13, 1988.

The Prayitnos admitted to murdering the officer and his family to get out of a debt to the officer. They dumped the bodies into a ravine in Malang, about 100 kilometers south of Surabaya.

The police officer who helped the family carry out the murder, First Sergeant Adi Prasetyo, was executed on Dec. 1, 1992.

The Supreme Court recently rejected the family's plea for a review of their case after the President ignored their request for clemency last year.

Soedjono said he allowed them to file their second request for presidential clemency although the bid is unusual in Indonesian law.

"Even God may answer our pray for mercy that we say over and over again. I think they (the convicts) have the chance to get a reprieve," he told Antara.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Roesman Hadi, the then chief of the East Java police command, said the police have prepared a firing squad to carry out the execution.

"The squad is ready for the job any time they are needed," he said. (pan)