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)