Yorrys goes free, police dumbfounded
Yorrys goes free, police dumbfounded
JAKARTA (JP): City Police have expressed dissatisfaction with a panel of judges and their decision on Monday to clear Yorrys Raweyai, an executive of the powerful Pemuda Pancasila youth organization, and his six accomplices of gambling charges.
"We're not assuming anything," said City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko. "But the question is how can he be acquitted of the charges?"
Bambang made the remarks on Tuesday in response to reporters' questions about the controversial decision of the judges, led by justice Ismail Sebayang, at the West Jakarta district court.
The verdict to let the controversial figure and his friends go free will not stop the police in their efforts to fight gambling in this city, he said.
"We'll continue to take immediate actions against any types of gambling even if we have to face technical procedure problems," declared Bambang.
Justice Ismail told the court on Monday 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 failed to prove that the accused had been involved in gambling, he 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.
The decision came as no surprise to many 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.
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, be sentenced to 10 months in prison.
According to the panel of judges, the prosecutor's charges were not substantiated due to the single eyewitness in the case, whose testimony was called illogical.
Witness Markus told the court that he used a ladder to see the group gambling through a small ventilation window on the third floor of Abidin's warehouse.
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 of the size of the ventilation window, saying it would have been difficult to see anything clearly.
Moreover, the judges said, it was illogical that Markus would have carried a ladder from the city police headquarters in order to arrest gamblers.
"Which part was illogical?" asked Bambang.
"It's normal in our operations to bring as many tools as we can, especially in a raid against suspected gambling dens, which are generally protected by dozens of bodyguards and layers of camouflaged walls equipped with modern equipment," said the former city police detective.
"Such a gambling ring is almost like those run by professional organized crime groups," Bambang said.
He added that the arrest of Yorrys and his group members was not as easy as a police raid against street gamblers. Low-ranking police personnel, who are almost at the front of many police operations, are frequently faced with obstacles, mostly bribes from the suspects.
Bambang, therefore, urged the police personnel not to be attracted by quick hush money.
Even though the local authorities have recently started again to fight against gambling, illegal gambling businesses are flourishing in this town. Games are mostly held at hotels, private houses and storehouses in North and West Jakarta. (bsr)