Zarina to stand trial next week

JAKARTA (JP): Zarina, the 24-year-old TV actress charged with trafficking 29,677 Ecstasy pills, will be tried in the West Jakarta District Court on Jan. 30.

The hearing will be presided over by a panel of judges chaired by Sumantri.

Sumantri, who is also the Court's public relations officer, said yesterday the other judges would be Fadli Fahmi and H.A. Pardede.

Zarina will be defended by a team of lawyers led by Amir Syamsudin.

Twenty witnesses will testify in the trial, Sumantri said.

The East Jakarta Prosecutor's office submitted the case dossier to the Court Tuesday.

The prosecutors will be Rezia Djamil and Uri Hasan Basri.

Zarina, who had a minor role in a TV drama, was charged under the 1992 Health Law which bans the distribution of dangerous drugs without an official permit.

If found guilty she faces a maximum 15 years jail and a fine of up to Rp 300 million (US$125,000). Indonesia has no specific Ecstasy law.

Zarina was arrested Aug. 7 when police found the pills in her West Jakarta house. She has denied the pills were hers.

After one day in police custody she escaped while being escorted from Tangerang police office to Jakarta Police Headquarters. The detective escorting her was dismissed.

On Nov. 4 Zarina was re-arrested by United States immigration authorities in Houston, Texas, for overstaying her visa. She agreed to leave the country voluntarily to avoid prosecution there.

She was brought back to Jakarta two weeks later, escorted by Indonesian police officers and her lawyers. (05)