However, the court has yet to conclude whether he could be held accountable for his alleged actions and has ordered a psychological evaluation, including an IQ test.

Wendra stands accused of violating Article 112(1) of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

He was arrested on the Cengkareng Outer Ring Road in West Jakarta on Nov. 25, along with his friend, Hau Hau Wiajaya, for alleged drug dealing. Police reportedly found 0.23 grams of crystal methamphetamine on them.

During Monday’s session, prosecutor Muhammad Erlangga presented Jap Mustopo, a mental health expert from the Tangerang Regency Hospital (RSUD), as an expert witness.

Mustopo told the court that, based on his evaluation through a series on interviews and a psychometric test on Wendra carried out on April 9 and 11, he diagnosed Wendra with mild mental retardation.

“The defendant is still able to do several tasks independently, but his communication ability is hindered by his mild retardation,” Mustopo told the court.

He said Wendra struggled to express himself in full sentences.

Mustopo said Wendra could still answer questions to which he knew the answers by heart, such as his birth place and birth date, but when asked about more complicated matters, he could not answer.

Wendra’s communication ability also reflected in his ability to read and write, Mustopo continued, saying that, although Wendra recognized familiar words, such as his own name, he read it by memory and could not read more complex words.

“He reads by recalling words he already knows. When I told him to write, he could not,” Mustopo said.

Mustopo also found that Wendra did not suffer from perception disturbance, mentally or physically from his five senses, and did not experience regular hallucination.

He said that Wendra’s main disability was his intellectual capabilities, which reflected in his limited communication skills, although Wendra had abilities that could be improved, such as his ability to ride a motorcycle.

The presiding judge, Sri Suharini, then asked Mustopo, “Can he decide between good and bad for himself?”

“[He] should be able to,” Mustopo answered, adding that Wendra suffered from a lack of intellectual capabilities.

He said patients with mental retardation like Wendra tended to be better at practical skills rather than academic ones, and according to mental health literature, their IQ levels ranged from 50 to 69.

The prosecutor then asked Mustoo in court whether Wendra’s mild mental retardation was the same as a mental illness, to which Mustopo said no, adding that Wendra did not suffer from symptoms of mental illness, such as depression.

However, as Mustopo is a psychiatrist and not a psychologist, he did not administer an IQ test for Wendra.

Meanwhile, Wendra’s lawyer from Jakarta-based rights group Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), Antonius Badar Karwayu, had previously arranged a psychological evaluation for Wendra by Mulyanto, a psychologist from the Banten chapter of the Indonesian Psychological Association.

According to a copy of the psychological evaluation report obtained by The Jakarta Post, Wendra was found to be mentally handicapped, with an IQ of 55.

Antonius said Monday’s trial session complemented Wendra’s previous psychological evaluation, and the testimony from the expert witness might have supported Wendra’s defense.

“Our psychologist found [Wendra’s IQ score] at 55, which, according to literature, is categorized as mild retardation,” Antonius told the Post on Monday.

He said his defense for Wendra was still the same. He hoped all charges against his client would be dropped given his intellectual disability, cited Article 44 of the Criminal Code on freeing mentally disabled or mentally ill people from criminal charges.

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