Witnesses quarrel over evidence

JAKARTA (JP): The mother and brother of a youth accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend admitted on Wednesday to quarreling over a piece of cloth apparently soaked in chloroform that was allegedly used in the murder.

In hearing of the trial of Teddy Yaputra Sulaiman, 17, in West Jakarta District Court, the suspect's mother, Susanti, told the court that the minor dispute with her other son, Handoko, started when she told him she had thrown away the smelly cloth.

The woman testified that she found the cloth in a car used by Teddy while searching for the ignition key.

She said the strong unpleasant odor of the alleged chloroform forced her to throw the cloth away immediately.

Handoko, who previously spotted the cloth in the car and left it there, later asked his mother what had happened to the cloth.

Unsatisfied with Susanti's explanation, Handoko accused his mother of hiding the cloth so it could not be used as evidence.

According to Handoko, the wet piece of cloth with the sharp stench aroused his suspicion when he first found it in the car.

Police say the car is the vehicle that was used by Teddy to take his former girlfriend to the Hidup Sehat clinic.

Wednesday's trial saw two of the family's servants -- Blacktozom and Ikhsan Mulyono -- accused of assisting Teddy in the crime.

The victim, Heppy Trinita, 17, died after apparently inhaling chloroform from a cloth that Teddy allegedly prepared for her.

Prosecutor Patta Sikapang said in a closed trial last month that the defendant planned to drug and rape Heppy after the girl refused to meet him any longer.

"The defendant was very angry after being rejected by the victim," Sikapang said.

But Teddy's lawyer, Sammy Kikilaitety, said on Wednesday that the action was merely "to impress the girl".

According to him, Teddy planned a fake robbery in which he and Heppy would be robbed by two bandits: Blacktozom and Ikhsan.

The chloroform was initially intended to make Heppy pass out, so that Teddy could fight the "robbers" and show that he could rescue his girlfriend, Teddy's lawyer said.

Before carrying out the plan, the three had tested the chloroform on a chicken and a rabbit, both of which survived, lawyer Kikilaitety said.

However, the lawyer explained, Blacktozom had apparently covered the girls' mouth with the chloroform for too long.

The hearings of Blacktozom and Ikhsan will be held again next Wednesday, while there will be a closed trial of Teddy on Monday. (03)