Prosecutor gets 17 years for drugs, gun possession

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 03/03/2006 7:23 AM  |  Jakarta

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A former prosecutor has been sentenced by the South Jakarta District Court to 17 years' jail for dealing crystal methamphetamine and owning unlicensed guns.

Hendra was head of general crime at the Cibinong Prosecutor's Office in West Java prior to his arrest.

Presiding judge Sri Mulyani said the defendant was found guilty of possessing and selling almost 200 grams of crystal methamphetamine or shabu-shabu and 30 ecstasy pills.

On the firearms count, Sri said there was enough evidence to convict Hendra as the police found two unlicensed guns at his place in Taman Rasuna Apartment, South Jakarta.

""The defendant is guilty of dealing drugs as stipulated in Articles 60 and 62 of the 1997 Psychotropic Law, as well as for the illegal possession of firearms as stipulated in Article 1 of the 1951 Emergency Law,"" she said.

She said the panel of judges decided upon a long jail term as Hendra had disgraced his profession and set a bad example for the public.

Prosecutors had demanded Hendra be sentenced to life imprisonment.

A man identified as Subur, who was arrested with 32 g of shabu-shabu in Mampang, South Jakarta, had informed on Hendra.

On Aug. 25 last year, police tracked Hendra to Jl. Club Rood in Setia Budi, South Jakarta. He had 82.67 g of shabu-shabu and 30 ecstasy pills in his pocket. In Hendra's apartment, they found a further 83.6 g of the same drug and the guns.

After the trial, Hendra's lawyer B. Hartono said Hendra and his family were rattled by the decision and needed time to decide whether to take proceedings to a higher court.

Prosecutor Ratna Nurul Afiah also said they needed to reexamine the case before making any decisions.

Hendra is the first prosecutor to be convicted on drug charges as it has been customary for police, prosecutors and judges to suppress such cases.

Initially, police attempted to press down the case by saying the drugs were connected to a case Hendra was handling and the guns were licensed.

However, after the media got hold of the story, the police held a press conference to announce Hendra's charges.

Meanwhile, the West Jakarta Prosecutor's Office said it was ready to bring to trial two different drug cases involving the head of religious affairs at the State Secretariat, Baharrudin Mamasta, and the deputy regent of Lebak in Banten province, Odih Chudori Padma.

""We have submitted the case files to the West Jakarta court, and are now just waiting for the trial to begin,"" said West Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Dimas Sukadis on Thursday.

Bahrrudin was arrested with two packages of shabu-shabu on his personage on Dec. 23 last year on Jl. Pecenongan Raya, Central Jakarta, while Odih was arrested last week also with several packages of shabu-shabu on Jl. Panjang, West Jakarta.

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