Trial for Dutch woman begins

TANGERANG: The trial involving a Dutch woman charged with possession of 4,885 ecstasy pills started on Thursday at Tangerang District Court after being postponed twice due to the absence of a Dutch-Indonesian language interpreter.

An English language interpreter accompanied the defendant, Sibel Yalvac, 20, a resident of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, during the trial, even though she said she was not comfortable with English.

Prosecutors Andrizal and Eben Silalahi alternately read out the charges, saying that the defendant has violated Article 59 of the law No. 5/1999 on psychotropic substances.

Yalvac was arrested upon her arrival at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Malaysia in August. A Customs and Excise officer was suspicious about a strange object in her bag seen through the X-ray machine when she passed by the checking point.

The prosecutors said that the officers found the pills wrapped in a plastic bag inside her bag when they examined her belongings. A test result confirmed that the pills contained amphetamine.

The suspect then was handed over to police for further investigation.

If the defendant is proven guilty, she will face a maximum punishment of 15 years prison term.

Presiding judge Ade Komarudin adjourned the session until next Thursday to hear the defense lawyer's rebuttal against the prosecutor's charges.

After the trial, lawyer Hendrik again demanded the court to provide a Dutch language interpreter since the defendant does not speak English fluently. -- JP