Yorrys says he'll take police to court

JAKARTA (JP): An executive of Pemuda Pancasila youth organization has threatened to sue the police for libel for implicating him in a 1993 fatal beating of a male servant.

"I'm preparing to sue the city police for libel because the police have taken too long to complete dossiers on my case. This hurts my good name and makes me unable to clear my position in court," Yorrys Raweyai, the day-to-day chairman of the youth organization, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

According to Yorrys, the police should have completed their dossiers on the September 1993 killing of servant Djasman, 23. The servant is believed to have kidnapped and killed the two-and- a-half year old son of his employer, Cornelius Simandjuntak, the secretary of the North Jakarta chapter of Pemuda Pancasila.

"What are they (the police) waiting for?" Yorrys asked. "Why don't they hand over the dossiers to the prosecutors to bring me to court as soon as possible?" he continued.

When asked about Yorrys' plan, head of city police general crimes section Lt. Col. Gories Mere's only comment was: "He can say anything he wants but neither he, nor money, will be able to dictate us."

About a year after investigating the case, police announced in their preliminary findings that Yorrys, an influential figure in the youth organization that has ties to the ruling Golkar faction, along with at least two other executives of the organization had played a part in Djasman's death.

The other two suspects were identified as Ruhut Sitompoel, who is a lawyer, and Gunung Hutapea.

The servant was strongly suspected to have kidnapped and murdered Simandjuntak's boy in Depok, over 30 kilometers south of Jakarta on Sept. 7, 1993.

Police claim that Djasman was badly tortured in his boss' house several days after he was found hiding in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.

It isn't clear whether Djasman was detained by the police or by members of the organization.

The police reported a month after his death that Djasman died in the police hospital from severe injuries that occurred before he was arrested. Police claim that the servant was already seriously wounded and was missing one of his ears when he was transferred into police custody by people who found and reported the suspect in Pasar Minggu.

Police had previously claimed that they had arrested the servant.

Yorrys said that the police should inform the suspects about their progress.

"The police should announce if they want to close the case, otherwise people might think that I am still a suspect," he said. (bsr)