Unlicensed AK-47 rifle given to Haryogi under order: Witness

JAKARTA (JP): An Army captain testified on Monday that he handed over an AK-47 rifle without proper documents to defendant Haryogi M. Maulani under the order of his father, Lt. Gen. (ret) Zaini Azhar Maulani, the former chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin).

"As an adjutant of the Bakin chief (Zaini), I acted under the orders of my boss and his personal assistant (Col. Abdul Djalil)," Capt. Suatmadji of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) told a hearing at the West Jakarta District Court, presided over by judge Sri Handojo.

"I handed over the weapon to the defendant in November last year without official Bakin documents and without receiving an official receipt. I did as I was told," Suatmadji said.

Suatmadji, 41, served as Zaini's adjutant from February last year to April this year.

Zaini was replaced by Lt. Gen. (ret) Arie J. Kumaat on Nov. 30 last year. But Suatmadji was Zaini's adjutant until April this year.

On Feb. 16, Tamansari Police officers confiscated two weapons from defendant Haryogi in a West Jakarta hotel.

One was an AK-47 rifle, serial number 4857, which did not have any bullets or magazine. The other was a Walther handgun, serial number 271759, with bullets and magazine.

Asked by prosecutor Maju Ambarita whether he was aware that possessing a weapon without proper documents was illegal, Suatmadji said he was only obeying orders.

"No, I did not know. I was just obeying orders," Suatmadji said, surprising the court's panel of judges.

"Besides, it was not even a loaded weapon. It had no bullets."

Suatmadji said the AK-47 rifle was not registered at Bakin's weapons warehouse, which stores unused and damaged Army weaponry.

"I did not check with the warehouse. If the weapon was missing from there, warehouse officials would have been looking for it. The weapon did not have any papers with it," Suatmadji said.

He said he found the AK-47 purely by accident at his office desk at Bakin.

"When I was appointed adjutant last February, I was given an office desk to work at which had a drawer and a small cupboard below it. The cupboard was locked and did not have a key," Suatmadji said.

"In mid-October last year, I happened to find a key under the desk's cupboard while I was moving my hands under it. I tried the key and it fit the cupboard's keyhole. I opened the cupboard and there was the AK-47, without the magazine and bullets."

He said he reported the finding to Zaini's personal assistant, then Lt. Col. Abdul Djalil, who told Suatmadji to keep the weapon secure in the cupboard until Djalil reported it to Zaini.

"In early November last year, the defendant went to his father's office. I told him that we found an unlicensed AK-47 rifle," Suatmadji said.

"The defendant showed interest in the weapon and said the rifles were antiques. He said if he was allowed, he would get it polished, showcase it and hand it over to Bakin, so that Bakin could present it as a memento to his father upon retirement." (ylt)