| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesians Change Plea Over Gang Robbery On Vessel |
| 2005-07-11 |
| ALOR STAR [Malaysia], July 10 (Bernama) -- Ten Indonesians who had pleaded guilty to gang robbery on a ship changed their plea to not guilty Sunday when the Sessions Court was about to sentence them for the crime. They claimed that they had not fully understood the charge against them when their plea was recorded on June 28. All of them, who were unrepresented then, had pleaded guilty to gang robbery on board the vessel Nepline Delima in waters between Kota Kuala Muda and Langkawi off the Kedah coast between 4 am and 12.25 pm on June 14 this year. They were charged under Section 395 of the Penal Code read together with Section 397 of the same code, and which carries a maximum 20-year jail term and whipping, if convicted. When the court sat today, lawyer VM Ravindran told the court that he had been appointed by the Indonesian embassy last Thursday to represent all the accused. He then applied to the court for the case to be postponed by a month to enable him to study the court papers. Judge Maznah Abdul Aziz then asked the accused if they still wanted to maintain their plea of not guilty, to which all answered in the affirmative. She then asked them if they understood Bahasa Malaysia and when they said yes she proceeded to explain the charge to them. After listening to the explanation, the accused maintained their plea of not guilty. The court then fixed Aug 10 for re-mention of the case. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #1 A classic tactic that has been used by criminals all over the world. But, it never works. |
| Posted by: Ebbomoger Shaving6065 2005-07-11 08:08 |