The second hearing in this case at the North Jakarta District Court took place earlier today. I might have to head along to the next one to make sure that I am getting accurate information rather than relying on talking to people and reading the news.
It seems the indictment states 0.586 grams of Crystal Meth (sabu-sabu or shabu in Indonesian) and not 0.0586 grams as previously posted. I will have to check this to be sure in my own mind on what the actual amount is because on of the police officers states a number of 0.27 grams as the amount found on Sheila.
There were four witnesses present today, two police officers and a couple of people identified as informant and friend, respectively.
The witnesses were: Wing Kenedy and Dedy Raharjo (police officers) and Toni (an informant) and Virdia (allegedly a "party / clubbing" friend of Sheila's).
The testimony from the police was the standard run of the mill relaying of how the whole thing went down from start to finish and their respective involvement in that process. They were clear that Sheila was not the target of their little operation. The testimony of Wing Kenedy was not subject to any objection from Sheila to the extent that she did not deny any of the points of evidence as they related to her.
The whole operation was based on complaints that the two rooms that were the focus of the operation were known to residents of the Golden Sky Hotel (I always thought that they were apartments) to be often the scene of drug transactions.
As it turns out Sheila might be the victim of bad timing in terms of being in either room on the day if the operation. This is a case of what ifs, "what if I never used drugs?", "what if I went to the Golden Sky on a different day?"
The testimony from the police informant is a little strange as it seems to implicate the assistant, Aprilyana, as a dealer or at least a one-time seller who was prepared to trade Toni's mobile phone for a packet of drugs. Sheila's claim that she was a little confused and unsure of who Toni was seems to be borne out by the testimony. Nevertheless, Sheila does not deny that Toni was there only that she really did not know why he was there. However, it raises some questions about Aprilyana and her role.
The testimony of Virdia is interesting as it indicates that Virdia was friends with Sheila and Aprilyana and that they were all regular users of sabu-sabu. Virdia also claims that she has known Sheila for a year or so and that she has only been using crystal meth since May. Her testimony goes on to state that Virdia, Sheila, and Aprilyana were regulars at the Stadium Discotheque and that they were all regular users of ecstasy (locally known as ineks).
Sheila rejected the testimony of Virdia by saying that she had never taken ecstasy.
This case sounds like it is going to be interesting, at least from the point of conflicting testimony, so maybe I should head on up to the North Jakarta District Court for the next hearing.
This is old news as it in seven days off the pace. However, having had a squizz at my statistics and visitors over the past week it seems that some people have been passing through in pursuit of information on the young starlet and her legal dramas as a result of her recent drugs bust.
I have written about this case before but mainly because it is a sad and interesting story and I could post a sexy photo of her to entertain you all.
The first hearing of the case occurred last week (20/10/08) in the North Jakarta District Court and lasted a mere 20 minutes. The 20 minutes was enough time for the Public Prosecutor to read out the indictment and the charges that Sheila is to face. Sheila is looking a little worse for wear after her time in custody (photo courtesy of Kapanlagi.com). She was accompanied by her lawyer, Mudarwan Yusuf, and an assistant, Aprilyana. Her family and some friends were also in attendance by all accounts.
The indictment charges that Sheila has breached Articles 60 - 63 of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Drugs Law. These Articles in essence relate to the possession of drugs for personal use and carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
The indictment also states that the amount of shabu in question is 0.0586 grams and that she was also in possession of a bong, two lighters, and a little blue box to store all the drug paraphernalia in. The other evidence of the commission of the offence is urinary. The Public Prosecutor has even provided the plastic bags that the urine was collected in.
The Public Prosecutor did not manage to secure the attendance of the witnesses so the Judge adjourned the matter for a week. Presumably this is so the witnesses can be secured and attend. The witnesses are police officers.
I might make this a regular column here and follow this case through to the end. I am guessing at this stage that Sheila is not likely to get the maximum in this case. She is likely to get time served, particularly if she admits to being an addict and agreeing to seek help, or maybe 18 months on the very outside for a first time offender. I would guesstimate 12 months.
This would make a good lesson on the dramas that drugs can get you into. Is it likely to be a major deterrent to others thinking about doing drugs, probably not. Simply, nobody thinks they will ever get caught.
This is not going to be a post that quotes a lot of facts and figures about the suicide rate in Jakarta. I do not claim to be an authority on the subject and neither have I done the research to pretend to have a claim like that. This is more a general commentary on suicide in light of a story I read in today's Kompas Newspaper (page 27).I would imagine that if you asked most people whether they had thought of suicide or not their answers would be "no". For me this is kind of like asking men whether or not they masturbate. The answer to that question is almost universally no too. Yet, the majority of men lie on this one and I think the majority of people lie on the suicide question as well.Thinking about suicide does not mean that you are desperate and thinking of figuratively biting the bullet and ending it all then and there. To the contrary, when I think about suicide it is almost always regarding how does one do it. I, personally, have great difficulty in the idea of ingesting something to stop me breathing or putting a shotgun in my mouth and blowing the back of my head out or getting in a car and poisoning myself with carbon monoxide.The difficulty for me is trying to picture my life being so bad that I would rather be dead. To date I have not been able to do that. I have often thought that people who commit suicide are to a certain degree, cowards. However, as I have aged, I know longer think that suicide is necessarily the easy way out. I can not pretend to understand the pain that must precede a decision to end it all, but I think I would find myself rationalizing that pain against the pain that I would leave behind if I did kill myself.The story that put me to thinking about this is about two students who gassed themselves at Pantai Karnaval at Taman Impian Jaya Ancol in North Jakarta. The news only relays their death and the manner in which it occurred. Unfortunately, it does not tell their stories. It does not tell us how two young adults in their early 20's reached the decision that they did. How was it that life was so bad that they no longer had the desire to live? At 21 and 22 you have your whole life ahead of you! If it is at a low point or even if it is at the lowest of low points then the only way to go is up! Life will get better.Anyway, just some personal ramblings from someone who has seen friends choose the ultimate option and still to this day never fully understands why!
The second hearing in this case at the North Jakarta District Court took place earlier today. I might have to head along to the next one to make sure that I am getting accurate information rather than relying on talking to people and reading the news.
