Tangerang court jails 14 people for killing

TANGERANG (JP): The local district court sentenced 14 men to between one year and four years in jail Wednesday for the manslaughter of a man in Cijantra village, Legok, here.

Presiding judges Ratna and Ramadhani, who dealt with the case in two different trial sessions, found the defendants guilty of beating Sanusi to death on July 2 last year and burying the victim under a cement slab.

"The killing, even though it was not planned, was sadistic. Mitigating factors in deciding the penalty were that the defendants had never been involved in crime and they regretted their actions," one of the judges said.

The main defendant, Rukimin, 41, was the only person sentenced to four years, but the penalty was three years less than prosecutor Rewang Hadisoebroto's demand of seven years.

Two of the other defendants, Ronidan and Manan, were sentenced to three years in jail, Kasim and Rikin to two and a half years, Cecep, Ojin, Manaf, Juma and Sujaka to two years, Suaedi for one and a half years, and Imang, Muslih and Umar for one year.

The 14 men beat the victim to death after he extorted money from them.

Sanusi, a security officer at PT Naga Mas in Legok, used to ask the defendants for money. On July 2 he demanded Rp 4,000 from Sujaka and Imang and then hit the men when they refused to hand over the money.

Sanusi then asked Rukimin for Rp 300,000. But Rukimin became angry and punched Sanusi in the stomach. The other defendants came to Rukimin's assistance and they mobbed Sanusi.

Rukimin told his accomplices to bury the body and cover it with a concrete slab to conceal their crime. But residents reported the case to the police, who later dug up and examined the site on July 13.

The prosecutor and defendants are still considering whether to appeal. (41/cst)