Ang Kim Soei is a shadow of the man he used to be. Clad in a blue prison uniform, his appearance is ghostly. When TEMPO reporters visited Kim Soei at the Tangerang correctional institute, he hid his face and fled from the prison's visiting room. “He doesn't want to meet outsiders," Hartono, a prison warden at the correctional facility, informed TEMPO reporters last Thursday.
At age 50, Kim Soei has developed a fear of strangers after being arrested last April, for allegedly owning and managing a giant ecstasy pill-producing factory in Tangerang, capable of producing 150,000 pills a day. Now, Kim Soei spends his days playing chess, haunted by the prospect of the death penalty. The charges against him are serious and judges at the Tangerang District Court are renowned for their harsh sentences against drug dealers.
In the meantime, Kim Soei can only wait. As of last week, his case files had still not been submitted to the Tangerang District Court. According to prosecutor Martha P. Berliana, the public prosecutor's office is compiling evidence against Kim Soei. Unfortunately, Berliana refused to specify the problem that the public prosecutor's office is having. “Just wait until the files have been completed," said Berliana to TEMPO reporters. According to TEMPO's source, who asked to remain anonymous, the prosecutor's office is having difficulty finding witnesses to testify against Kim Soei, who has been charged under Article 59 (2) of Law No. 5 of 1997 on Psychotropic Substances. Under this article, the prosecutor's office must prove Kim Soei guilty of committing organized crime. However, they are finding it difficult to compile evidence against him, as all potential witnesses have disappeared.
Kim Soei's attorney, Undang Hidayat, confirmed the situation. In fact, Hidayat claims that his client may be exonerated if police are unable to prove that Kim Soei owned the ecstasy manufacturing plant in Cipondoh, Tangerang. Hidayat claims that it will be difficult to trace the 10 suspects accused of managing the factory. Several suspects such as Vap van Dijk, Hans Philip, Frans and Beth have totally disappeared. “So far, no key witnesses have been questioned," said Hidayat.
To make matters worse, the prosecutor's failure to find relevant witnesses opens the opportunity for Kim Soei to shift the blame. Shifting the blame to Tomy Bocor (alias Tomy Palembang) could be Kim Soei's fastest and safest pathway to freedom. Tomy was killed by police in front of the Hotel Red Top in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta, on April 5, 2002, just one day before police discovered and raided the Tangerang ecstasy factory.
Police arrested Kim Soei at room number 1513 of the Borobudur Hotel, last April. Owned by Artha Graha Group boss Tommy Winata, the Borobudur Hotel was Kim Soei's favorite hiding place. Now, rumors have emerged that Tommy Winata is also involved in drug dealing. When interviewed by TEMPO reporters, Winata claimed that he did not know Kim Soei (see Tommy Winata: “I am not involved with drug dealers").
In the meantime, prosecutors have their hands full compiling the case against Kim Soei. If proven guilty, his punishment will be severe. Reports have emerged that the pills produced at the Tangerang ecstasy factory were exported worldwide, lending weight to the rumors that Kim Soei is a member of an international drug ring.
In fact, four agents from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) visited the Tangerang ecstasy factory last week. The agents were in Indonesia to meet members of Indonesia's National Narcotics Board and to train public prosecutors and police in how to uncover clandestine laboratories.
After investigating the factory, the DEA agents concluded that the raw material discovered at the Tangerang factory would produce approximately 1.3 tons of ecstasy. Using a tool marking equipment, the DEA agents also concluded that Tangerang-produced pills resembled 2.1 million pills found in Los Angeles.
Prosecutor Berliana may use this finding to prove that Kim Soei was not only the owner of the Tangerang ecstasy factory, but also a member of an international drug cartel. In fact, two of the American DEA agents expressed willingness to testify in this matter. Possibly, Kim Soei's personal search for “ecstasy" has reached a dead end.
Nezia Patria, Nurlis E. Meuko
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