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Scorned man gets 20 years for murdering love interest
Asido April Parlindungan Simangunsong was sentenced Wednesday at the Depok District Court in West Java to 20 years in prison, including the ongoing detention period, for murdering and stealing from 32-year-old Feby Lorita
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sido April Parlindungan Simangunsong was sentenced Wednesday at the Depok District Court in West Java to 20 years in prison, including the ongoing detention period, for murdering and stealing from 32-year-old Feby Lorita.
The panel of judges declared Asido guilty of murdering Feby, a resident of Gunung Putri in Bogor, under Article 338 of the Criminal Code and of stealing Feby's jewelry and belongings under Article 362 of the same law. The articles stipulate maximum 15-year and five-year prison sentences respectively.
'As we have found the defendant's actions coincide with Articles 338 and 362 of the code, we sentence him to 20 years in prison,' presiding judge Sapto Supriyano said.
Feby's body was found with serious injuries and rope around her neck in the trunk of a Nissan March van at the Pondok Kelapa Public Cemetery in East Jakarta on Jan. 29. Asido was arrested in his hometown of Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, on Feb. 2.
Earlier, the prosecutors had demanded the judges sentence Asido to death or life imprisonment under Article 340 of the code for premeditated murder.
'The defendant's actions did not fulfill the criteria for premeditated murder in accordance with Article 340. There was not enough time for the defendant to plan such a murder. Furthermore, he displayed extreme emotions that do not fit with premeditated murder,' Sapto said.
During a previous hearing, Asido told the panel of judges that he had killed Feby spontaneously because she had rejected his advances roughly. He said he became angry and punched Feby until her teeth broke because she had insulted him.
Feby then demanded that he give her financial compensation for her broken teeth. He agreed and took her to his cousin's empty house in Bojonggede, Bogor, where she suddenly threw a tantrum, hitting and kicking him.
- Judges say Asido guilty of spontaneous murder, not premeditated murder as claimed by the prosecutors
- Asido's lawyer says Asido will appeal because 20 years is longer than the maximum sentence for murder
Asido then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Feby in the neck. He then stole her jewelry before dumping her body in the trunk of the car, and then went to her apartment in Cibubur, East Jakarta, to steal several belongings.
Separately, one of Asido's lawyers, Sahara Pangaribuan, told The Jakarta Post that the sentence passed down was strange because if there were multiple charges then the sentence should only be for the heavier charge. In this case, Sahara said, Asido should have been sentenced to only 15 years in prison because that was the maximum sentence for Article 338 on murder.
'We are all in shock at the sentence. All of us lawyers and especially our client,' he said.
Sahara added that after the sentence was passed down, the panel of judges immediately concluded the hearing without giving either the lawyers or the prosecutors the chance to declare that they wished to appeal the sentence. However, Sahara said the team of lawyers would return next week to file an appeal.
Lead prosecutor Arnold Siahaan also said that he would file an appeal for the judges to consider a heavier sentence. He said that the judges' reasoning that there was no time for Asido to have planned the murder was misleading.
Asido's older brother, Daniel Hamonangan Simangunsong, was previously sentenced on Aug. 28 to eight months in prison. The panel of judges found Daniel guilty of aiding Asido in hiding Feby's body in accordance with Article 181 of the code. (fss)
