Witness says Gunawan vowed vengeance before escape
Witness says Gunawan vowed vengeance before escape
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A witness testified on Thursday that defendant Gunawan Santoso,
who has been charged with ordering the assassination of PT Aneka
Sarana Bakti (Asaba) president director Boedyharto Angsono, had
vowed to "commit a vengeful act against a person who had treated
him unfairly".
Bambang Irawan, warden chief of the Kuningan penitentiary in
Cirebon, West Java, told the North Jakarta District Court that
Gunawan -- who was sentenced on June 2002 to a 28-month prison
term for embezzling money from PT Asaba -- became restless and
began speaking his mind and plotting revenge, days before he
escaped from prison in February last year.
"Gunawan once told me that he was treated like a worthless
cockroach," Bambang told the courtroom. "He did not state clearly
who the (object of his vengeance) was."
In his earlier statement to the police, Bambang claimed that
it was Gunawan's former father-in-law Boedyharto who had
mistreated him.
Bambang also stated that the corruption convict escaped, with
the full knowledge of at least one guard. "Gunawan sneaked away
and was escorted by one of the prison guards ... at Kuningan
penitentiary," he said.
Gunawan is accused of ordering four marines to kill Boedyharto
and his bodyguard, Army Special Forces member Second Sgt. Edi
Siyep, in July last year in the parking lot of the Sasana Krida
Sports Stadium in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.
The prosecutors charged him under Article 340 of the Criminal
Code, and if guilty, could get the death penalty.
Other witnesses said that after Gunawan escaped from prison,
he used different names during his stay in a rented house on Jl.
Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, where he was arrested. Gunawan
also had plastic surgery and altered the color of his skin.
A security guard at the rented house, Nurdin and housemaid
Tukinah said they knew Gunawan as Calvin Martin, while house
owner Sumaji Sukandi testified that the defendant introduced
himself as Indra Amarta.
Sumaji said that Gunawan often acted strangely. "He used to
intentionally stay outside and get a sun burn."
Presiding judge I Wayan Padang Pudjawan adjourned the trial
until March 30.