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Life sentence sought for accused killer
Facing life: Murder suspect Margriet Christina Megawe attends a hearing at the Denpasar District Court in Bali on Thursday
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Facing life: Murder suspect Margriet Christina Megawe attends a hearing at the Denpasar District Court in Bali on Thursday. Prosecutors sought a life sentence for Margriet who has been accused of killing her foster daughter Engeline last year.(JP/Zul Trio Anggono) (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
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span class="inline inline-center">Facing life: Murder suspect Margriet Christina Megawe attends a hearing at the Denpasar District Court in Bali on Thursday. Prosecutors sought a life sentence for Margriet who has been accused of killing her foster daughter Engeline last year.(JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
A team of prosecutors demanded on Thursday that the Denpasar District Court in Bali sentence Margriet Christina Megawe, 60, to life imprisonment for allegedly murdering 8-year-old Engeline Margriet Megawe.
Speaking to the panel of judges led by Edward Harris Sinaga in a hearing, lead prosecutor Purwanta Sudarmaji said evidence and testimonies from witnesses and experts presented during the trial were already enough to prove that Margriet was guilty of violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
Purwanta added that Margriet was also proven guilty of violating multiple articles in the 2002 Child Protection Law as she had physically harmed and abandoned the victim.
'During the trial, [we] did not find any mitigating factors or justifying reasons that can eliminate the defendant's mistake. Thus, the defendant deserves to get an equal punishment for her act,' he said.
Engeline's body was found buried in the backyard of Margriet's house in June last year after she was declared missing several weeks beforehand.
Engeline's disappearance attracted public attention as the family created a Facebook page for Engeline called 'Find Angeline ' Bali's Missing Child'. However, a police investigation later led to accusations that Margriet had killed Engeline by slamming her head into the floor and afterwards ordered Agustay Handa May, then her domestic worker, to bury the corpse.
The police named Agustay a suspect immediately after they found Engeline's body. They named Margriet the main suspect a couple of weeks later.
Both suspects have been undergoing separate trials in the murder case since October last year.
When testifying as a witness in Margriet's trial, Agustay said his employer had tortured Engeline by pulling her hair and repeatedly slamming her head into the floor prior to her death. He said Margriet ordered him to cover Engeline's body, along with her doll, with bed linen and a curtain and that she burned Engeline's back with a cigarette to ascertain whether she was dead.
After he took Engeline's body to the backyard and buried her there, Agustay testified that Margriet told him to cover the spot with a big red basket and put some chicken food on it to avoid suspicion.
However, Agustay said that before Margriet told him to bury the dead girl, his employer also ordered him to sexually abuse the body. Agustay, however, said he refused to do so.
'The defendant's act was sadistic,' Purwanta said.
The prosecutors claimed Margriet had also exploited Engeline for economic interest as she told the girl to take care of hundreds of chickens in her backyard. The chickens were then sold by Margriet to people who came to her house.
The lawyers also said they considered that Margriet's act had tarnished Balinese tradition.
'The defendant never confessed that she is guilty and never showed any remorse,' Purwanta said.
As the demand was read out, Margriet was seen to be crying.
'I ask for justice because I never killed my daughter Engeline, but I have been accused of killing her,' Margriet said through tears.
The trial will continue on Feb. 15 when the defendant is scheduled to deliver her defence plea.
Earlier on Tuesday, another team of prosecutors demanded the same court sentence Agustay to 12 years in prison and to pay Rp 1 billion (US$73,000) in fines, or serve an additional six months in prison.
The prosecutors said that Agustay had been proven guilty of helping Margriet bury Engeline's body, thus charging him with violating Article 181 of the Criminal Code for concealing evidence and Article 76 and 80 of the Child Protection Law.
Prosecutors, however, declared that Agustay had not been proven guilty of premeditated murder.
The court is scheduled to announce the verdicts for both defendants on Feb. 29.
