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