FULL TEXT: Indonesia on Sunday [Mar 20, 2005] executed a 51-year-old housewife found guilty of murdering and mutilating three women within four years. Astini, also known as Bu Lakri, was shot by a 12-member East Java Police firing squad at 1:20 a.m. local time, said A.F. Darmawan, chief of the special crime unit at the area’s High Prosecution Office. Astini’s lawyer, Ida Sampit Karo Karo, and a police doctor were among those present at the execution.
A district court convicted Astini in Surabaya, the capital
of East Java province, in 1996 - the same year the murders were discovered
after the head of the third victim, Puji Astutik, was found in a river near
Astutik’s house in Surabaya about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the
capital, Jakarta. Astini’s first victim, Rahayu, was killed in 1992 and the
second, Sri Astuti Wijaya, in 1993. Astini mutilated their bodies and dumped
them in separate places.
Astini, who pleaded guilty to the murders, told the court
she had been angry with the victims because they frequently came to her house
collecting debts. Like many Indonesians, Astini goes by a single name. Her
final attempt to avoid execution failed last year, when then-President Megawati
Sukarnoputri turned down her appeal for clemency.
“The execution was carried out at 1:20 WIB (1820 GMT
Saturday), but I cannot disclose the location of the execution,” Darmawan said
on Sunday at a news conference. “The late Astini was shot by 12 members of
firing squad of police, with only six of them using live bullets aimed at her
heart from a distance of five meters (16 feet),” Darmawan said, adding that she
was executed “in sitting position.” At Surabaya’s Dr. Sutomo Hospital where
Astini’s body was taken for an autopsy. Relatives of the last victim, Astutik,
said they had come to make sure Astini was dead.
“You’re dead, Astini! We are satisfied even though we have
been waiting for nine years,” shouted Astutik’s brother, Agus Purwanto.
Indonesia routinely uses execution to punish murder and drug
trafficking, and about 65 people are on now death row. Many come from other
Asian countries or Africa, and have been sentenced to die for drug offenses.
Astini’s execution was Indonesia’s fourth since August, when an Indian citizen,
Ayodhay Prasad Chaubey, faced a firing squad for smuggling heroin into the
country.
A month later, two Thai citizens - Saelow Praseart, a
58-year-old man, and Namsong Sirilak, a 32-year-old woman - were executed for
similar offenses.
[“Indonesia executes 51-year-old woman for murder,
mutilation,” The China Post, March 20, 2005]
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CHRONOLOGY
1954 – Astini born. (AKA Mrs. Lastri; AKA Bu Lakri)
Aug. 1992 – Rahayu, Kampung Malang. murdered
over a disputed debt of Rp1.25 million. Body never found; cut the body into 10
pieces.
Nov. 1, 1993 – Sri Astuti Wijaya (35), Kampung Malang. Murdered
when trying to collect a debt of Rp300,000; cut the body into 10 pieces.
Jan. (Feb.?) 1996 – Puji Astutik murdered; Wonorejo Village, Surabaya, to
avoid repaying a loan of Rp90,000; ; cut the body into 10 pieces; severed head
in a plastic bag in the Wonorejo River.
Oct. 11, 1996 – Astini (41) sentenced to death. Surabaya
District Court (PN).
1997 – Supreme Court's decision in June 1997 confirmed the
two previous decisions. Second appeal failed.
2004 – Clemency denied by the president.
Mar. 15-19, 2005 – Astini was transferred from Malang Sukun
Prison to Medaeng Detention Center, Sidoarjo, to undergo a five-day isolation
period.
Mar. 20, 2005 – Astini Executed by East Java Regional Police
Mobile Brigade.
***
SOURCES:
[“Matinya Seorang Pejagal,” Liputan6, Mar. 29, 2005]
[“Vonis Mati Pembantai Surabaya,” Abdul Manan - My
World, My Work, Oct. 11, 1996]
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[1894-8/17/20]
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