Syrians stand trial for fraud

Syrians stand trial for fraud

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: A Syrian family is standing
trial here for conspiracy to defraud and inflicting millions of
rupiah in losses on a foreign exchange dealer.

During the first hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors charged the
family, consisting of a 56-year-old mother and her two children,
under article 363 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum
jail sentence of nine years.

An interpreter has been employed for the course of the trial
as the family speaks only Arabic.

The alleged crime was reported to the police in mid-March. The
suspects by that time had fled the South Kalimantan capital for
the South Sulawesi town of Parepare, where they stayed for two
weeks prior to their arrest.

The suspects, residents of Damascus according to their
passports, are being detained in Teluk Dalam prison.

Prison guards said the Syrian prisoners had frequently
complained about the food and appeared to be highly strung. -- JP