Three get 135-day term for drugs

Three get 135-day term for drugs

JAKARTA (JP): The Serang District Court in West Java sentenced
yesterday three men found guilty of possessing 11 kilograms of
hashish to 135 days in jail, Antara reported.

The verdict was 15 days lighter than that demanded by the
prosecution. The news agency said that prosecutor Djauhari
Sja'rani had earlier demanded that Edwar Sanjaya, 27, Hanafiah,
25, and Mohamad Muslim, 24, be sentenced to five months in jail.

The panel of judges, presided over by Judge M. Yusran Tawaf,
also ordered the defendants to pay a Rp 100,000 (US$28) fine or
serve an additional two months in prison.

The three, part of a drug ring that trafficked hashish from
Sumatra to Java, especially Jakarta, were arrested in a police
raid at the Merak tollgate in West Java, on July 20, 1997.

With the sentence, Edwar Sanjaya, from Jakarta, and his two
accomplices from Medan, would need to serve only another 11 days
in jail.

The prosecution and the defendants have not yet decided if
they will appeal the verdict.

The 1976 law on narcotics stipulates a maximum six years
imprisonment and a Rp 10 million fine for possession of hashish,
and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment along with a Rp 30
million fine for trafficking hashish.

According to Antara, the same court had recently punished
Herman Tanto, 25, to 75 days in prison for the possession and
trafficking of 168 Ecstasy pills.

The punishment was one month lighter than that demanded by the
prosecution.

The news agency reported that police in the Cilegon precinct
spent two months following Tanto before they had enough evidence
to arrest him. Tanto resisted arrest and was engaged in a shoot-
out with police officers.

The 1996 law on psychotropic drugs stipulates a maximum
penalty of 15 years jail term and a maximum of Rp 750 million
fine for possession and trafficking psychotropic drugs, including
Ecstasy. (swe)