Yorrys' friends withdraw their statements

Yorrys' friends withdraw their statements

JAKARTA (JP): Two more witnesses in the trial of seven
defendants charged with organizing a gambling den in cooperation
with Yorrys Raweyai retracted their preliminary statements.

The two witnesses, Linda Budianto, the wife of defendant
Budianto, and Bok Tjin Lin, one of the seven defendants, were
arrested along with 12 other people on July 29 at the storehouse
on Jl. Daan Mogot 125, West Jakarta. The place is alleged to have
been used as a gambling den by its owner, Abidin.

Bok testified that he signed the police statement without
even reading it.

"I signed the statement saying that gambling was going on
when the police raided Abidin's storehouse because I wanted to
speed up the questioning," he said.

Bok admitted that he did not even read the contents of the
preliminary statement before he signed it. He also said the
police did not force him to sign it.

Linda said that she also signed the statement because she
did not want to stay in police custody any longer.

In the statement Linda said that she and her husband,
Budianto, were invited by Abidin to come to the storehouse. She
then saw Budianto, Yorris and the other people gambling.

Yesterday Linda retracted the statement and told the judge
she did not see anyone gambling.

"I did not see anyone gambling there. I was singing with my
husband and other people on a karaoke player. I saw Yorrys
sleeping on the couch," she said.

The police team raided Abidin's storehouse on July 29 at
9.30 p.m. after two police officers witnessed gambling on the
third floor.

Sgt. Markus, one of the two witnessing officers, earlier
told the judge that on July 29 at 8 p.m. he and five other
officers were ordered by his superior to raid the storehouse.

Markus said he entered the storehouse by using a portable
aluminum ladder to climb the back wall. From the vantage point of
the ladder he could see the room filled with people, some of whom
were sitting around a table playing cards.

In the previous court session Abidin also retracted the
preliminary statement he made to police.

Prosecutor Noor Said said there is a possibility that Linda,
Bok and Abidin could be charged with committing perjury.

According to the Criminal Code, a person giving false
evidence
can face a maximum imprisonment of seven years.

During yesterday's court session Yorrys said Linda and Bok
told the truth.

The police released seven of the people apprehended in July,
four of whom were women including Linda, because they were not
gambling when the police raided the house. The other seven,
including Yorrys, are being tried in separate trials. (mas)