T

he Bekasi District Court in West Java on Wednesday sentenced defendant Didit Aditianto, 27, to five years behind bars for the manslaughter of Yosafat Hutabarat, though many, including the victim'€™s family, continue to insist that Didit is innocent.

'€œThe defendant is found guilty of manslaughter. He is therefore sentenced to five years'€™ imprisonment,'€ presiding judge Swarsa Hidayat said, reading out the verdict at the court on Wednesday.

The defendant'€™s mother, Darmi, 57, burst into tears as the judge banged his gavel to close the trial.

'€œMy son is innocent! Justice is the preserve of the rich in this country!'€ she cried as court guards escorted her out of the building.

The court'€™s verdict was lighter than the six-year-imprisonment sought by prosecutors. Didit was charged with violating Article 351 Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code on manslaughter, with a maximum sentence of seven years.

One aggravating factor was that the defendant provided unclear information during the trial, the verdict noted.

'€œMeanwhile, the mitigating factors are that the defendant has been polite during the trial and that the victim'€™s death was not purely caused by the defendant'€™s wrongdoing. The victim died in a brawl,'€ Swarsa said.

Didit was arrested on June 21 along with five others at a boarding house in Margahayu, Bekasi, following a brawl between residents of Margahayu and Rawasemut on Jl. Chairil Anwar in the municipality.

Rawasemut resident Yosafat, 19, was stabbed during the fracas and later died in the hospital; the Bekasi Police subsequently arrested Didit for the crime.

A number of witness testified to having seen Didit stab Yosafat.

'€œWitness Fahrul [who was on the same motorcycle as Yosafat at the time of the stabbing] said he saw the defendant stab the victim,'€ Swarsa said. '€œWitness Febri also said he saw the defendant stab the victim,'€ he added.

However, Yosafat'€™s family has denied that Didit was the perpetrator.

'€œThe verdict is not just. My son'€™s killer is still walking free. Didit is not the one who killed my son,'€ Yosafat'€™s mother Ratna Juwita, 50, cried out as the verdict was read.

'€œWhat'€™s strange is that the witness Fahrul previously told us and many others that Didit was not the killer. But then he testified differently during the trial,'€ said the victim'€™s uncle Antonius Manurung, 65.

Meanwhile, the defendant'€™s lawyer, Johannes Gea, said the trial had been marred by a number of irregularities.

'€œFirst, the doctor who conducted the examination of the victim'€™s body said that the size of the victim'€™s wound and the weapon'€™s edge allegedly used by the defendant were not congruous,'€ Johannes said.

He added that the several witnesses who said Didit was not the perpetrator had been disregarded by the judge. '€œI have spoken to Didit. We will certainly appeal to a higher court,'€ he said.