S

iti Khotimah was restless. The 41-year-old waited for hours on Wednesday for the trial of her husband, Hasan Basri, to start, and for judges at the Central Jakarta district court to free her family’s breadwinner.

Almost five months ago, Siti’s husband, Hasan, 41, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, was picked up by the police while waiting for customers in Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta.

Officers said Hasan was part of gang that that stole a car, several laptop computers and two cellular phones from a boarding house in Kemayoran in October.

Hasan was detained by officers who identified him as Lala, one of the gang’s members, based on a photograph given them by another member, Reza, 18.

According to the police, Lala was involved in the robbery.

“I believe that the police mistook my husband for Lala because they look alike. My husband was at home when the robbery happened,” she said.

With the help of the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), Siti filed a pre-trial motion, hoping that the court would free Hasan.

The motion was declined.

“Some police officers came to my house when I applied for a pre-trial motion. They told me to withdraw my application. They even asked me why I asked for help from the LBH,” Siti told The Jakarta Post.

After a two-hour delay, Hasan’s hearing began and finished soon thereafter. The judges adjourned after the prosecution’s witnesses failed to show.

The team of LBH lawyers representing Hasan said that they would call witnesses for the defense when the trial resumed.

“In the next hearing, we will present two witnesses to testify that Hasan was at home when the robbery happened,” lawyer Kiagus Ahmad said.

Another lawyer for Hasan, Maruli Rajaguguk, said that the trial should stop since Reza, the gang member, recanted his earlier statement, testifying that Hasan was not Lala.

Siti, who was in the courtroom with her son, Nelson, 18, continues to wait. In the meantime, the mother of two now works as ojek driver herself, replacing her husband.

“I cannot do anything else but wait. I’ll lose my patience if I have to wait longer. Now, I need to feed my whole family all by myself,” Siti said. (JP/riz)