Suspected pedophile and murderer stand trial

Suspected pedophile and murderer stand trial

JAKARTA (JP): The trial of a man accused of sodomizing and
murdering six street children began yesterday at the Central
Jakarta District Court.

Prosecutor Suriansyah charged the defendant, identified only
as SW alias Robot Gedek, 33, with sexually assaulting six minors
aged 11 to 15, and then strangling them with plastic ropes.

The defendant, described by the prosecutor as uneducated,
homeless and unemployed, mutilated the victims' hands and feet
after murdering them.

Three of the boys were identified as Wisnu Ibnu Pranoto, 13,
Adri Rionaldo P. Simamora, 15 and Abdul Rosyid, 12. The other
three boys were not identified.

The prosecutor said the precise date of the murders could not
be determined; the boys' bodies were found between September 1995
and August 1996.

Police arrested the defendant in Tegal, Central Java, on Aug.
5 last year. He is from Pekalongan, also in Central Java.

The forensic science laboratory of the University of Indonesia
confirmed the boys had been sexually assaulted.

The prosecutor said before sodomizing the boys, the defendant
invited them to have fun with him at various entertainment
centers, such as the Ancol Dreamland Park or at electronic game
arcades.

"The defendant gave Adri Rp 1,000 to please the boy,"
Suriansyah said.

He then sexually assaulted the boys in the Senen market area,
Central Jakarta, Suriansyah said.

"Abdul Rosyid was sexually assaulted in the Khemon food stall
on the third floor of Senen market's third block. The defendant
strangled the boys until they choked to death," he said.

All the murders occurred in the defunct Kemayoran airport in
Central Jakarta, the prosecutor said.

"Sometimes the defendant would give the boys something to eat
before strangling them from behind," he said.

Suriansyah said the defendant then cut open the boy's belly.

According the Criminal Code (Article 340), the defendant could
face the death penalty.

The prosecutor also charged the defendant with sexually
assaulting minors, carrying a maximum sentence of five years
imprisonment.

Prosecutor Suriansyah said the defendants' friend, identified
only as SN alias Babeh, witnessed the murder of Wisnu, one of the
victims.

Police said last August they had found 10 bodies of teenagers
in Jakarta and Central Java. Six of these were boys allegedly
killed by Robot.

Police have yet to conclude who murdered the other four boys,
even though Robot has confessed to killing all 12.

During the hearing, the defendant appeared restless but calm.
He drummed his fingers on his lap and tapped his feet on the
floor.

Lawyers for the defendant Febry Irmansyah and Nadjab Khan said
outside the court Robot seemed mentally unwell. They have not yet
said if they will enter a plea of insanity for their client.

"He always answers 'yes' when people ask about the murder,"
Febry said.

Presiding Judge Sartono adjourned the hearing until next week.
(07)