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)