Zarina's accomplice gets jail term
Zarina's accomplice gets jail term
JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta District Court sentenced on
Wednesday Ahian Santoso, alias Yeye, an acquaintance of drug
suspect Zarina Mirafsur, to two years and six months in jail for
possession of psychotropic substances.
The court also ordered Ahian, who was arrested along with
Zarina during an early morning raid in November last year, to pay
a fine of Rp 6 million (US$810).
"The defendant is guilty of violating Article 62 of Law No.
5/1997 on psychotropic substances," presiding judge Sri Handojo
said during the hearing at the district court.
The sentence was stiffer than that sought by prosecutor Hasan
Madani, who had asked the judges to sentence the defendant to two
years in jail and order him to pay a Rp 5 million fine.
Madani is also leading the prosecution of Zarina in a separate
trial at the same district court, and cited the same article in
his indictment of the former television actress.
Article 62 of the 1997 law on psychotropic substances carries
a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a maximum fine of Rp
20 million ($2,700).
Scores of spectators, including the defendant's wife, Dewi,
attended the one-hour hearing, which began at 12:40 p.m.
Jakarta Police detectives arrested Ahian and Zarina in a room
in a hotel-apartment in West Jakarta last November.
The police seized from the apartment 0.3 grams of shabu-shabu
(crystal methamphetamine), tinfoil and other paraphernalia used
to inhale the drug.
Judge Sri Handojo said city police also discovered four Happy
Five tranquilizers in Ahian's wallet.
Besides charging the defendant with possession of shabu-shabu,
the prosecutor also charged the defendant for failing to inform
police about a drug party allegedly held by Zarina and a number
of her acquaintances at a house located in Duren Sawit, East
Jakarta, on Oct. 1 last year.
According to the indictment, Zarina, Jantje Gustaf Mustamu and
Budiman Pudjianto used shabu-shabu in a house belonging to a man
identified as Ando. The incident was allegedly witnessed by the
defendant.
The indictment said the defendant's failure to inform police
about the drug party violated Article 65 of the 1997 law on
psychotropic substances, which carries a maximum sentence of one
year in jail.
However, in Wednesday's hearing judge Sri Handojo dropped this
second charge against Ahian.
"There was no available evidence to prove the defendant was
wrong in his failure to inform police (about the incident)," said
the judge.
The defendant's lawyer, Togap Marpaung, said his client was
considering filing an appeal.
After the hearing, Dewi expressed her regret with the verdict.
"We want justice. My husband is only a victim of a police plot."
Ahian refused to answer questions from journalists following
the hearing. (asa)