Thai woman may get jail term for heroin smuggling
Thai woman may get jail term for heroin smuggling
TANGERANG (JP): A prosecutor demanded on Tuesday that the
Tangerang District Court sentence 29-year-old Khanchana Thiangtum
to 15 years in jail and order the Thai woman to pay a Rp 150
million (US$21,428) fine for her alleged attempt to smuggle pure
heroin into Indonesia last August.
Prosecutor Supriati told a hearing at the district court that
Khanchana was arrested with 1.75 kilograms of heroin at the
arrivals gate of Sukarno-Hatta International Airport on Aug. 31
1999.
"The defendant just got off the TG-433 flight from Bangkok to
Jakarta. At the check point Khanchana was anxious to leave and
walked back and forth toward the officials.
"The officers became suspicious and put on an X-ray check on
the defendant's blue bag which turned out to be filled with
heroin," Supriati said.
The drug was taken to the police laboratory and the result
issued on Sept. 30 last year showed that it was pure heroin, she
said.
Narcotics Law No. 22/1997 carries the death penalty or a
maximum of life imprisonment and a fine of Rp 1 billion for
organized drug-related felonies, while it imposes a maximum of 15
years imprisonment and a Rp 150 million fine for individuals
charged in drug cases.
The trial was adjourned until March 21 when the court will
hear the defendant's response.
In a separate courtroom of the Tangerang District Court, a
prosecutor demanded the judges sentence defendant Rudi Bin
Azhari, 25, a local of Manis Jaya subdistrict in Jatiuwung, to 14
years in prison and order the defendant to pay a Rp 15 million
fine for drug dealing.
Prosecutor Mursidi said in a hearing on Tuesday that Rudi was
distributing one kilogram of marijuana when he was arrested at
his house with a friend named Iyan on Nov. 29 last year.
"He was packing the marijuana which was to be sold for Rp
5,000 per envelope," Mursidi said, adding that Iyan escaped the
police raid through the back door.
The Tangerang District Court sentenced four Nepalese nationals
to death for drug trafficking in January and February this year.
The two Nepalese, identified as Til Bahadur Bhandari, 24, and
Bahadur Gurung, 32, went on trial for smuggling 1.764 kilograms
of heroin in 204 capsules which they had swallowed.
The other two, Nar Bahadur Tamang, 59, and Bala Tamang, 30,
were also tried for smuggling 554 grams of heroin into the
country in July last year.
No Indonesians, however, have received the death sentence for
similar felonies. (41/edt)