T

he Jakarta Police plan to recommend that prosecutors charge the driver of a Daihatsu Xenia who recently ran over 12 pedestrians in Central Jakarta, killing nine and injuring the rest of them, with murder under Article 338 of the Criminal Code.

The 28-year-old driver, identified as Apriyani Susanti, has already been charged with reckless driving and drug abuse.

“She may face a maximum 15 years in prison,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday.

He said that the police had decided to charge Apriyani with murder based on testimonies from suspects and witnesses, as well as the crime scene investigation.

“We have consulted with all related parties. Thus, we will put the charges to the test later in court,” he said.

“It is up to the panel of judges which article they will use to hand down the sentence [to Apriyani].”

Rikwanto said that the investigators would complete the dossier soon and hand it over to the prosecutors.

Commenting on this, Trisakti University legal expert Asep Iwan Iriawan said he regretted the police’s decision to file murder charges against Apriyani.

“Apriyani drove under the influence of alcohol and drugs, thus her consciousness was jeopardized at that time. While planning a murder, you would definitely need your consciousness, right?” Asep, a former Supreme Court justice, said.

He said that the police were pushing their luck by applying such a heavy charge in the case.

Charging a reckless driver with murder is not unprecedented in Indonesia.

In 1994, a Metromini minibus driver who caused the death of 33 people when his vehicle plunged into the polluted Sunter River in North Jakarta was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Despite the controversy, the Supreme Court maintained the verdict based on the murder article.

There have also been calls by the public for the police to use harsher articles carrying the death sentence in Apriyani’s case.

According to a police laboratory test, Apriyani, who worked for a production house in Jakarta, was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash on Jl. Ridwan Rais in Central Jakarta on Jan. 22.

Her three friends, Adestina Putri, 29, Denny Mulyana, 30, and Arisandi, 34, who were traveling with her in the car, have also been named suspects for drug abuse and each may face up to four years in prison.

Apriyani will also face charges under the 2009 Traffic Law for causing a fatal traffic accident, not having a valid driver’s license or registration, and not concentrating while driving, which carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

The dead were identified as M. Hudzaifah, Firmansyah, Suyatmi, Yusuf Sigit, Ari, Nanik Riyanti, Fifit Alfiah Fitriasih, M. Akbar and Wawan. The injured victims are Siti Mukaromah, Kenny, Indra and Teguh Hadi Purnomo.

Apriyani, her brother Agus and her mother Yurneli have apologized to the families of the victims through a video recording broadcast by a TV station and through a letter sent to print and online media.