JAKARTA: The Medan District Court in North Sumatra sentenced a Lithuanian man here the other day, Verikas Mindaugas, to life in prison for smuggling 3.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into the province.
The sentence was more lenient than that demanded by the prosecutor of the death penalty.
Presiding judge Indra Cahya said Mindaugas had been proven guilty of violating articles 114 and 115 of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics and illicit drugs.
“The court sentences the defendant to life imprisonment and orders him to continue serving the prison term,” Indra said in closing the trial on Thursday.
In their verdict, the panel of judges said that the defendant’s wrongdoing was revealed after a customs and excise officer at Kualanamu International Airport apprehended him on Dec. 14, 2014 carrying crystal meth in small bags and a backpack.
Of the amount, 449 grams of crystal meth was found in a silver women’s handbag, 406 grams in a red handbag, 415 grams in a brown handbag and 2.02 kilograms in a blue backpack.
The defendant had carried the crystal meth from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indra said that no mitigating factors were found to lighten the defendant’s sentence.
Aggravating factors included the fact that Mindaugas’ actions were against the government’s fight on narcotics and that he complicated the trial, the judge said.
Upon hearing the verdict, the defendant, who had often looked tense during the trial, suddenly looked radiant. Through his interpreter Gerald Siahaan he promptly expressed his acceptance of the verdict.
“I accept it, Mr. Judge,” he said.
Mindaugas said he was happy he was not sentenced to death, adding that the death penalty sought by the prosecutor was too tough.
“I am glad,” he said, smiling, as he was escorted to a temporary detention cell at the court.
Prosecutor Dwi Melly Nova, on the other hand, said she would consider appealing the verdict. “I am considering it, Mr. Judge,” Dwi told the court.
The police have previously warned the government and the public that Medan had become a drug smuggling hub for international narcotics rings.
In February last year, the Medan District Court sentenced a Malaysian police officer to four years in jail for smuggling 0.5 grams of crystal meth through Polonia International Airport in Medan, from Kuala Lumpur in May 2013.
In May 2014, the Medan Customs and Excise Office arrested a Thai woman at Kualanamu airport attempting to smuggle crystal meth by hiding it internally and in the soles of her shoes.
