Jan. 4
IRAN:
Death Sentence for Iranian Who Beheaded Sons
An Iranian who beheaded his 2 sons after they witnessed him murder a woman
was sentenced to hang Tuesday by a Tehran court, in a case that has hit
Iran's front pages.
The man, known only as Ismail, pleaded guilty to beheading and dicing up
the bodies of two adults and severing the heads of his sons, aged 7 and
11, newspapers and the ISNA students news agency reported.
"Ismail suspected his wife Masoumeh of having an affair with a man called
Ebrahim. He then forced her to marry him in a lavish ceremony attended by
some 700 guests," Naser Seraj, the head of penal courts in Tehran
province, told ISNA.
Ismail then killed Ebrahim and his sister Fatemeh.
"I had beheaded sheep before and I felt Fatemeh was a sheep so I cut her
head off and chopped her body to small pieces. I placed her head in a tray
which scared the life out of my children," he was quoted as saying by
Etemad newspaper.
After learning that his sons had witnessed Fatemeh's murder, Ismail
beheaded them.
Seraj said Ismail received 2 death sentences for killing the adults. Under
Iran's Islamic law a father need only pay blood money for killing his
children.
Masoumeh was sentenced to death for her affair with Ebrahim. Adultery is
punishable by death in Iran.
(source: Reuters)
INDONESIA:
Slain Waiters Relatives Want Death Penalty
The family of a waiter shot dead at the Jakarta Hilton Hotel on New Years
Day has demanded the death penalty for the sole suspect in the killing.
Yohanes Berchmans Haerudy Natong, better known as Rudy (25), was fatally
shot in the head at about 3.30am Saturday (1/1/05) while working at the
Hiltons Fluid Club.
Police initially seemed afraid to comment on the case, but on Sunday they
named prominent businessman Adiguna Sutowo as the sole suspect in the
killing.
Adiguna is the younger brother of the hotels boss Pontjo Sutowo. Their
late father was Ibnu Sutowo, who was president director of state oil and
gas company Pertamina from 1968 to 1976, during which time his corrupt
management nearly bankrupted the firm. Reports say Adiguna remains close
to relatives and cronies of former dictator Suharto.
Rudys relatives are hoping authorities will not be afraid to prosecute the
powerfully connected suspect to the full extent of the law.
"He has taken the our life of the child. It's vital that he must be
punished as severely and appropriately as possible. The death sentence
feels the most appropriate," Rudy's uncle, Frumens da Gomez, was quoted as
saying Monday by detikcom online news portal.
Adiguna, who is now in police custody, has denied shooting Rudy. His
lawyer Amir Karyatin on Sunday claimed that Adiguna instead helped Rudy
after he was shot, taking him to the hotel's health clinic.
The lawyer also said his client was not at the Fluid Club, but at the
hotels Lagoon Lounge.
"Adiguna has explained to the team of investigating officers that he was
not at the location of the shooting in Fluid Club. Adiguna was in the
Hilton Hotels Lagoon Lounge. Furthermore, when the victim was being
carried up a steep place, Adiguna helped carry him and suggested he be
brought to the Hilton's clinic," Karyatin was quoted as saying by the
Pikiran Rakyat daily.
Adiguna's denial prompted an angry reaction from Frumens. "He can
personally deny it with his mouth, but the evidence is that our child was
murdered. According to those who witnessed the incident, Adiguna was
clearly the killer. Its impossible that Satan or anyone else did it," the
grieving uncle was quoted as saying by detikcom.
"He cannot possibly escape. We will not allow him to escape," he added.
Rudy was reportedly buried on Monday morning in his home village of Ruteng
on Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara province.
In an ironic twist in the case, Frumens claimed that Rudys father had in
1973 saved Adiguna from being killed during a gang fight. The website gave
no further details of the alleged incident.
Adiguna is currently being detained under the Criminal Codes Article 338
on manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail; and
under Emergency Law No.12/1951 on illegal possession of weapons and
ammunition, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Rejected Credit Card
According to local media reports, the Fluid Clubs New Year celebration was
coming to a close when a woman at Adigunas table presented Rudy with her
BCA credit card to pay her bill.
Rudy reportedly took the card to the cashier but it was rejected, so the
waiter returned to the table, informed the woman her card had been
rejected and asked if she had another credit card or would prefer to pay
with cash.
The Kompas daily reported that the woman haughtily responded to the
waiter, while motioning to Adiguna: "How dare you disrespect my friend?
Hes the one with the biggest share in this hotel and bar."
Rudys further refusal to accept the BCA credit card allegedly caused
Adiguna to fly into a rage. Reports said the suspect took out a pistol and
shot the waiter. Rudy reportedly died instantly when the bullet entered
his right temple and exited on the left side of his neck.
An unnamed worker at the bar said he heard the noise of the gunshot but
did not immediately realize it had come from a firearm.
"At that time, the sound of an explosion was clearly heard. But initially
I thought it was the sound of a bottle opening. So I was startled to see
Rudy fall down flat," he was quoted as saying by Kompas.
He said several workers then carried Rudy to another room and Fluid Bars
New Year celebration continued.
"The night's agenda carried on. The music was very noisy and the
atmosphere was dark, so a lot of the visitors didnt know what had
happened," he added.
Rudy was first taken to the Mintoharjo Navy Hospital in Slipi, West
Jakarta, and pronounced dead 10 minutes after arrival. His body was
subsequently taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital and later to St Carolus
Hospital.
Fluid Club general manager Jerry Eka Nugraha said there had been no
warning signs of any trouble, adding that it was normal for patrons to be
drunk.
Jakarta Police detective chief Senior Commissioner Mathius Salempang said
Adiguna was drunk at the time of the shooting and later refused to confess
to the crime, despite strong evidence.
Adigunas lawyer acknowledged that his client had been drinking vodka on
the night of the shooting, but denied he was drunk. "Adiguna certainly
could drink vodka, but not until drunk," he was quoted as saying by the
Banjarmasin Post daily.
Law Student Planned to Wed
Rudy was the eldest of 7 children of Alfons and Maria da Gomez. He had
been studying law at Bung Karno University in Menteng, Central Jakarta,
and was to due to graduate in April.
Reports said he had worked part-time as waiter to support his two younger
sisters, who lived with him in a boarding house behind the Perbanas School
of Economics in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Tempointeraktif.com reported that Rudy had worked for only a month at
Fluid Bar, having previously been employed at the trendy Mata Bar in the
Wisma Metropolitan II building on Jalan Sudirman, Central Jakarta. His
uncle Gaudens said Rudy had taken on the job at Fluid Bar when Mata Bar
closed for renovations.
Rudys girlfriend Riska said they had planned to get married later this
month. She said she went to Fluid Bar at about 5am Saturday to wish Rudy a
happy New Year. "When I arrived at Fluid, I was informed that Rudy had
been in an accident. I was told to go to the naval hospital and there I
discovered that Rudy had died."
Riska said she was upset that the Hiltons management did not give her an
explanation of Rudys death. "When I asked for Rudy's belongings, they only
gave me a small bag containing his mobile phone. I don't what happened to
his other belongings," she said.
No Cover-Up: President
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday night expressed concern over
the shooting and ordered law enforcement authorities to clearly and
transparently uncover all the facts of the case to dispel public fears of
a possible cover-up.
"In this case, the government has asked the National Police to undertake
legal proceedings against the perpetrator of the Hilton Hotel shooting.
Carry out the legal process truly and precisely to show high
accountability," he was quoted as saying by detikcom. "Recent concerns
that authorities are not taking maxim measures must be dispelled," he
added.
Bullets & Bloodstained Towels, But No Gun
The first piece of evidence taken by police was a .22 caliber bullet found
at the scene of the crime. Police later went to Adiguna's hotel room - a
presidential suite - and seized 19 bullets (all also .22 caliber), 2
bloodstained towels, some bloodstained tissues and the suspects
bloodstained clothes.
But police have not yet found the murder weapon. "So far we are still
looking for the whereabouts of a .22 caliber weapon," said Jakarta Police
spokesman Senior Commissioner Tjiptono.
"According to information from witnesses at the scene of the crime, after
the suspect fired the weapon at the victim, he immediately slipped the
weapon behind his back and up to now the weapon has not yet been found,"
he added.
National Police criminal investigation chief Commissioner General Suyitno
Landung said the 19 bullets found in Room No.1564 had been placed inside
the cistern of the bathroom toilet. "This indicates they were hidden in an
attempt to deceive the investigating officers," he was quoted as saying by
detikcom.
Tjiptono said the bloodstained towels and clothes had been sent to the
National Police forensics department to determine whether the blood
matched samples taken from Rudys body.
Landung said the bullets found in the bathroom would be tested at a police
laboratory to see whether they were from the same lot of ammunition as the
bullet found at the scene of the crime.
Tjiptono said data from the Police Intelligence Agency indicated that
Adiguna did not possess a gun license. "So we are now investigating who
owns the gun, where it came from, where it is now, and to whom it was
given."
Adigunas lawyer claimed that his client had a gun license but denied
ownership of the bullets found in the toilet. He admitted that Adiguna was
a member of the Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting Association
(Perbakin) - an organization once led by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.
The lawyer claimed Adiguna once owned a revolver that "only fired rubber
bullets," but he did not have it at the time of the Fluid Club shooting
because Perbakin had given the weapon to National Police headquarters in
October.
Jakarta Police chief Firman Gani claimed investigators had not yet checked
records to find out whether Adiguna has a gun license. "Up until now we
have not yet checked whether he had a license to own a gun, because the
suspect still refuses to admit to the shooting," he said.
He denied that police had been put under "pressure" from certain powerful
individuals to drop the investigation and/or absolve Adiguna of any
wrongdoing.
Police have so far questioned 12 witnesses, including at least four people
who saw the shooting. Adigunas female friend who allegedly triggered the
argument was taken to Central Jakarta Police headquarters on Saturday but
it remains to be seen whether she will be declared a suspect. It depends
on the investigation," said Tjiptono.
Tjiptono denied that police had not been transparent in their handling of
the case due to the suspects high profile and powerful connections. He
said police had publicly declared Adiguna as the sole suspect prior to the
presidents call for a transparent investigation.
Meanwhile, Suyitno said that the absence of the murder weapon, police
still had strong evidence against the suspect, specifically the
bloodstained items in his room and incriminating statements from several
witnesses.
Key Witnesses
Police have declined to fully name any of the 12 witnesses questioned so
far. Landung said three of the witnesses were women who had been sitting
in Fluid Club with Adiguna. He identified the women only by their initials
as A.D.S., F. and T.
Detikcom quoted sources as saying T. was Adigunas close friend, Tinul, who
had tried to use her BCA credit card to pay for the food beverages ordered
by Adigunas party at the club.
There was speculation that one of the other female witnesses might have
been Adigunas "2nd wife," identified in various media reports as Ficka or
Vicka.
But detikcom quoted a source as saying the "2nd wife Vicka" was not at
Fluid Club at the time of the shooting, but at her residence in Pulomas,
East Jakarta. The news portal reported that calls to her telephone went
unanswered on Monday. Vickas assistant, identified as Sis, also did not
answer calls from detikcom.
Detikcom reported that although many people witnessed the shooting, they
were too afraid to come forward to give statements.
Gani expressed confidence that police would complete their investigation
into the killing within two months and then send a file of evidence
against suspect to the Attorney Generals Office to pave the way for his
prosecution.
Profile of Adiguna
Adiguna is the youngest of 7 children of lieutenant general Ibnu Sutowo,
who passed away in 2001.
Although not as well known as his late father and tycoon sibling Pontjo,
Adiguna has long enjoyed close links to the corrupt Suharto clan.
He previously served as head of the youth branch of the Communication
Forum of Daughters and Sons of the Indonesian Armed Forces (FKPPI) - a
group notorious for backing Suharto in clashes with pro-democracy groups
in the late 1990s.
The position made Adiguna a virtual deputy to FKPPI chief - and Suhartos
middle son - Bambang Trihatmodjo and there is every reason to believe that
the family still wields considerable clout among the countrys elite.
According to research by anti-corruption crusader George J. Aditjondro,
Adiguna teamed up with Martina Sudwikatmono (the eldest daughter of
Suharto's cousin and foster brother Sudwikatmono) to form a company called
PT Aero Dwiguna Witama, which was the sole agent for British Aerospace's
BaE 125-100 corporate jets, which cost $14 million each.
An article in The Jakarta Post daily from April 2002 states that Adiguna
is a co-owner of the Multiplex Grande Pasaraya luxury cinema complex at
the Pasaraya Grande shopping mall in Blok M, South Jakarta. The other
co-owners are former manpower minister Abdul Latief and television soap
opera producer Raam Punjabi.
Adiguna is the president director of pharmaceutical firm PT Sunthi Sepuri,
which was established in 1998. The companys factories in Tangerang produce
antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives, fertility pills, and a range of
other tablets, capsules, injections, powders, ointments and even a male
aphrodisiac brand-named Instink.
According to detikcom, Adiguna recently acquired a stake in Jakartas Four
Seasons Hotel, which was previously called The Regent.
Adiguna is also listed as the boss of an oil pipe producing firm Hymindo
Petronas, based on Batam island.
Detikcom reports that Adiguna in 1992 teamed up with Sutikno Sudardjo and
Ongky Sumarno to establish Jakartas Hard Rock Cafe. This joint venture
reportedly led to the formation of Mugi Rekso Abadi Group, which owns
various bars and radio stations, as well as franchised shops, resorts and
magazines. The groups franchised magazines include Cosmopolitan Indonesia,
Cosmo Girl, Bazaar Indonesia, FHM Indonesia, Good Housekeeping Indonesia
MotoRiders and Autocar Indonesia.
Adiguna is also reported to have held stakes in various luxury hotels and
apartment complexes, as well as dealerships of Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes
Benz and Harley Davidson.
The Sutowo family also owned shipbuilding firm PT Adiguna Shipyard and
agricultural machinery firm PT Adiguna Mesin Tani.
Aditjondro writes that Adiguna and Suhartos youngest son, Hutomo Tommy
Mandala Putra, in 1985 established a company called PT Mahasarana Buana
(Mabua), which was based near Batam and supplied dynamite to industries.
Mabua also reportedly acted as Rolls-Royces agent for Indonesia.
Like Tommy, Adiguna was a passionate racing car driver. Tommys racing
career has been temporarily halted, as he is presently serving a 15-year
jail sentence for murder, illegal possession of weapons and fleeing
justice. He is expected to be released within 6 years as he regularly
receives hefty sentence remissions, ostensibly for good behavior.
(source: Laksamana)
