Suspects proclaim their innocence

Suspects proclaim their innocence

JAKARTA (JP): Suspects in a murder case protested their
innocence to the East Jakarta district court here yesterday.

"I am just an ordinary, uneducated house-wife who can't even
speak very well. But I have been telling you the truth. My family
and I did not murder the Rohadis," Suparmi, one of the suspects,
said, reading her hand-written defense out between sobs.

On Oct. 2, a woman and three children, were brutally murdered
in their home in the Bambu Apus sub-district of East Jakarta. The
woman was the wife of Rohadi, a senior high school teacher.

Five suspects, including Suparmi, her husband Philipus and
three children are being tried in separate court hearings.

Last Monday, prosecutors demanded that Suparmi and Philipus be
sentenced to death.

"I was shocked to hear the prosecutors' cruel statement; I
hardly ever quarreled with my neighbors," Suparmi said.

Guilt

Several points were raised by Suparmi's lawyers, including the
prosecutors' persistent assumption of guilt.

"Indictment should be based on what has been revealed and
proven in court, not elsewhere," Suparmi's lawyer said, referring
to the suspects' retraction of earlier statements allegedly made
under duress.

Three lawyers took turns reading the 133-page document and
raised several points they considered awkward, such as the
question of material evidence collected on Oct. 17, nine days
after the suspect's house was destroyed by a mob on Oct. 8.

Lawyers also said that some evidence wasn't presented in court
at all, such as the results of forensic tests on the door-knob,
the refrigerator and some blood-stained coins found at a public
phone near the site of the crime.

"It is our duty to find the absolute truth," the lawyer said.

In a separate closed hearing, the three minors, who are facing
18 years in jail, also told the team of judges led by Farida
Achmad that they were innocent.

"Us being children, we find it horrifying enough to imagine
intestines hanging out, let alone to actually commit the murder,"
they said.

Court was adjourned until next Monday. (14)