Witness testifies on toll road robbery

BOGOR (JP): The court was told at a hearing on the Jagorawi toll road robbery that after the incident the defendant's superior told him to stay away from Bogor and change his appearance.

Witness M. Diar Purakusumah, who worked with land broker Idfiel Jaya Anwar, said that two weeks after the robbery on Oct. 11 last year she was instructed by Idfiel to tell defendant Erling Doly Wijaya, alias Mikel or Handoko, to leave Bogor and change his appearance. She testified Thursday.

Idfiel is being tried at the Bogor District Court for allegedly masterminding the robbery in which a man was killed. The victim, Zaenuddin Lesmana, was carrying Rp 600 million that was to be used to pay land compensation to landowners in Jonggol, West Java.

Diar said, "Idfiel heard Zaenuddin (treasurer Zaenuddin Lesmana) had been robbed and was being treated at the Bogor Red Cross Hospital."

She said two weeks later Idfiel told her, "Tell Mikel to stay away from Bogor."

Diar later said Idfiel had instructed her to inform Mikel to change his appearance. "Mikel was told to wear neat clothes, grow a mustache and cut his hair short," she said.

Mikel was usually dressed very casually and had long hair, she said.

An earlier witness, also Idfiel's employee, said Idfiel, Zaenuddin and defendants Mikel and Hendrik were all working together in land appropriation. The name of their company has not been revealed.

The prosecutors claimed Mikel watched the robbery and fired shots from his Mercedes while Hendrik, also known as Heri, drove a Toyota Kijang van in front of Mikel on the Jagorawi toll road. They said Hendrik got out of the van and smashed the windshield of Zaenuddin's sedan with a sickle.

One of their friends who is still at large, Budiarto, has been charged with shooting Zaenuddin. Another suspect, Tjetje Tajudin, died while in police detention.

Witness Diar said she had not questioned the instructions for Mikel because "I am only an employee. I don't want to ask fussy questions."

She said she only learned that Mikel was a suspect in the robbery when she was questioned by the police. (24/anr)