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