Car Crash, 9 Killed 3 Injured
The
four people in a car that crashed into a group of pedestrians, killing nine,
will each face several drug charges that could land them in jail for up to 12
years, police said on Tuesday.
But the absence of a specific offense for driving
under the influence of drugs or alcohol means the prospect of more severe
charges against the driver involved in the weekend’s carnage in Central Jakarta
is limited.
“The four suspects will face layered charges,”
said Sr. Comr. Nugroho Aji, the Jakarta Police’s narcotics chief.
He added that the charges being prepared would
carry jail sentences between four and 12 years. He explained that the driver of
the car and her three passengers would be charged with violating the 2009
Narcotics Law, as they are suspected of having been in the possession of drugs,
having used drugs and having consumed drugs together with others.

The
officer said that the four had admitted to taking ecstasy pills and drinking
alcohol at a disco in the Hayam Wuruk area of West Jakarta and at a cafe in
Kemang, South Jakarta. They said they were new to the drug scene.
“Their urine tested positive for methamphetamine.
Based on that, we declared them drug suspects,” Nugroho said.
The four, identified as driver Afriani Susanti,
29, and passengers Adistira Putri Grani, 26; Deny Mulyana, 30; and Arisendi,
34, were in a Daihatsu Xenia that swerved off the road at Tugu Tani on Sunday
morning, smashing into a group of people.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman
Nasution said that the car was found to have been traveling at no less than 90
kilometers per hour at the time of the accident. Air pressure in the car’s
front tires also was not optimal, adding to its instability at high speed, Saud
said.
Nugroho said the four told police that they had
“only” used drugs twice. He said police would check the various sites and clubs
mentioned by the suspects.
Sr. Comr. Dwi Sigit Nurmantyas, the head of the
Jakarta Police’s traffic department, said that the driver of the Xenia would
also face multiple charges based on the Traffic Law and the Criminal Code. “The
heaviest is the violation of Article 310, which carries up to six years in
jail,” Dwi said, referring to the article on reckless driving that causes
serious injury or the loss of life.
He also said that Afriani did not have a valid
driver’s licence and car registration.

Yesmil
Anwar, a legal expert from Padjadjaran University, said Indonesia did not apply
cumulative sentences if suspects were found guilty of multiple charges.
“The suspect is facing two charges, reckless
driving and the use of narcotics, and in cases like this, the judges will of
course pick [the charge carrying] the heaviest sentence,” Yesmil said.
The expert added that the case pointed to a need
to review the law, including drafting a specific article dealing with driving
under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Edy Suandi Hamid, another legal expert and rector
of the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta, said that the four,
especially the driver, should be punished severely.
“It should not be allowed to happen that this
Xenia case leads to similar punishment as in other cases that do not nearly
involve so many violations and so much suffering,” he said.
My opinion :
I think this
problem is interesting, the media already expose this news and the accident attracted many attention immediately because the numbers of victim involved
Nine people died in this accident. And as we know this tragedy was happened because of drug
influence and drug is illegal in our country, and it proves that drugs is not only bring harm to
the user but also to the others. I hope the government can decrease the ammount of drug users and strengthen our laws so that this accident will never happen again