Third execution of 1995 is imminent

Third execution of 1995 is imminent

JAKARTA (JP): A convicted murderer on death row in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, may soon be executed following President Suharto's rejection of his appeal for clemency, according to the Antara news agency.

Kartacahyadi, alias Yongki, 35 years old, who was convicted for a triple murder, has exhausted all avenues for reprieve and could be brought before the firing squad soon, officials in Solo told Antara.

Indonesia has so far executed two men this year. The first was a Malaysian drug dealer, who was executed in Jakarta; the second an Indonesian man, who murdered an entire family in North Sulawesi in 1985.

The two executions sparked a national debate on whether Indonesia should retain capital punishment.

"The prosecutors office has informed us that Kartacahyadi's clemency appeal has been rejected," Surakarta Police Chief Col. Soeseno said, adding that the office had asked the police to prepare a firing squad to carry out the execution.

Soeseno said the request had been passed on to the Central Java Police Headquarters.

Kartacahyadi, a resident of Jakarta, was sentenced to death by the Surakarta district court in 1990 for the brutal murder, in February of that year, of three people he encountered in a Solo house which he was robbing.

The house belonged to Utomo Kasidi, who is related to Kartacahyadi. The victims were Utomo's 11 year old son Danny, the 23-year old housemaid Lasiyem and Utomo's brother Sasongko Suryo, 40.

His accomplice, Tugiman, also received the death sentence and is currently being held in the Cipinang jail in Jakarta.

According to the court, the culprits killed Sasongko by electrocuting him, while Danny and Lasiyem were stabbed to death. The court found that Lasiyem had been beaten prior to being killed.

They then made off with some valuables they had found in the house, including Utomo's car. The total loot was estimated to have been worth about Rp 40 million ($18,000). (29)