Yorrys acquitted of gambling charges

Yorrys acquitted of gambling charges

JAKARTA (JP): A panel of judges of the West Jakarta district
court have dismissed the gambling charges against Yorrys Raweyai,
the controversial executive of the powerful Pemuda Pancasila
youth organization, and his six co-accused.

Justice Ismail Sebayang told the court yesterday that Yorrys,
43, along with Abidin, 52, Bok Tjin Lin, alias Halim Harto, 45,
Ng A Tjan, alias Herman Tjandra, 64, Sundoro Tan, 46, Subianto,
alias Tju Bin Kiat, 53, and Hadi Mustofa Ching, 44, were
innocent.

The prosecution had failed to prove that the accused had been
involved in gambling, Justice Ismail said.

"Therefore, their good names should be restored to them, while
evidentiary material, such as the Rp 1,572,000 (US$691) in cash,
playing cards, coins and a table should be returned to their
rightful owners," continued the judge, who was accompanied by
Justices Abdulrahim and Djupri Baidjuri.

Earlier, Prosecutor M. Noor Said had sought a prison sentence
of eight months for Yorrys, who is the day-to-day chairman of the
infamous youth organization, and the other accused, with the
exception of Abidin.

The prosecutor recommended that Abidin, the owner of the
premises on which the group was arrested, be sentenced to 10
months' imprisonment.

According to the panel of judges, the prosecutor's charges
remained unsubstantiated because the testimony of the single
eyewitness in the case was illogical.

Witness Markus had told the court that he saw the group
gambling through a small ventilation window, on the third floor
of Abidin's warehouse, using a ladder.

But he admitted that he had recognized neither the people nor
the gambling equipment being used.

During the trial, all of the suspects denied Markus'
statements, saying that they had been watching television and
singing karaoke.

The judges said that they doubted Markus' testimony because it
was not easy to see through the small ventilation window.

The judges said that it was an illogical effort for Markus to
carry a ladder from the city police headquarters in order to
arrest gamblers.

Another event that made the judges doubt the truth of the
charges was the procedure used to arrest the accused.

The police said that they had arrested 14 suspected gamblers
at the scene but released seven, of whom four were women, several
hours later because of a lack of evidence that they had been
gambling.

The suspects released did not even come to court to give
evidence, the judges said.

"Based on the facts, the panel of judges is not sure that
gambling was engaged in," Justice Ismail said.

Prosecutor Noor told the court he needed some time to decide
whether or not to accept the judges' decision.

After the trial, Yorrys, accompanied by his lawyer Ruhut
Sitompoel, told reporters that he had no intention of suing the
city police for mistakenly accusing him of gambling.

"As a good citizen, I accept the judges' decision and I have
no plan to sue the police," he said.

The judges' decision came as no surprise to many people in
this city, who had predicted an acquittal given Yorrys' social
stature.

Yorrys and the other six people were arrested on the evening
of July 29 by a team of city police detectives at Abidin's
warehouse on Jl. Daan Mogot 125 in West Jakarta.

Many believed that the trial of Yorrys and his co-accused was
one of the most complicated gambling trials ever in Indonesian
legal history.

Since the arrest of the group nine months ago, the trial has
proceeded over a series of sessions.

In almost every session of the trial, city police have had to
deploy dozens of armed personnel to guard the courthouse from
crowds of people.

Although it could not be proven, most of the crowds were
thought to be Yorrys' supporters.

During one of the trial sessions on March 13, for example,
police arrested 15 visitors, including one who was in possession
of a gun and bullets. (bsr)