COURT ASKED TO SUMMON DRUG DEFENDANT'S DOCTOR TO TESTIFY

A defense lawyer asked the West Jakarta District Court on Tuesday to
summon a medical doctor to testify in the trial of drug defendant Gusti
Maya Firanti Noor, 29, the wife of former president Soeharto's grandson
Ari Sigit.

"Dr. Al Bachri, who treated my client for her drug addiction, works at
the Wisma Addiksi drug addiction center in Bukit Cinere Indah in South
Jakarta," Asfifudin said during the court session, presided over by
Judge Sri Handojo.

"Since he is medically bound, a summons is needed for him to testify
for the defendant. A second witness who will also testify in court for
the defendant will appear at the next hearing," the lawyer said.

The judge adjourned the hearing until Sept. 12, when the court will
hear testimony from witnesses for the defendant. Maya also is expected
to be cross-examined during the session.

After the hearing, Asfifudin said Al Bachri had been treating his
client for the past six months for her one-year drug addiction.

"The evidence in the case, the drugs that were confiscated from my
client, could possibly have been prescribed by Bachri.

"If it is proven in court that unable to contact the doctor, my client
turned to another source for the prescribed drugs, we might have a
chance of winning this case," he said.

He added that the other witness expected to testify for the defense had
not yet confirmed he would appear in court. "So we cannot reveal his
identity now."

Prosecutor Achjadi Santoso has charged the defendant with violating
Article 62 of Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances. The article
carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine
of Rp 100 million (US$11,235).

During the court session on Tuesday, the prosecutor read out the
testimony of three witnesses who failed to appear in court despite
receiving two summonses.

The witnesses were identified as security guards A. Sodirin and Andi
Hamzah, and Azwari, who was present at the scene of Maya's arrest as a
bystander.

Reading out the testimony, Achjadi said the defendant was arrested
after police found 1.58 grams of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine)
and drug paraphernalia in her purse and inside her Mercedes Benz sedan,
which was parked in the parking lot of the Hotel Olympic in West
Jakarta's Tamansari district on June 22, 2000.

After the written testimony was read, Maya said the drugs found in her
purse "belonged to her".

West Jakarta Police deputy chief of detectives Sr. Insp. Asrofi, who
made the arrest, gave his testimony during the initial court session.
He said that the day the defendant was arrested, he was some 50 meters
from Hotel Olympic when he heard people arguing over counterfeit money
and cellular phone vouchers.

"I checked with the owner of a store near the hotel which sells cell
phone vouchers. The store owner told me two people had tried to buy a
Rp 100,000 Pro-XL voucher from him using two Rp 50,000 banknotes. One
of the banknotes was fake.

"I ran after the two guys. One man turned out to be the hotel's
security guard (Sodirin), who had been asked by the defendant to buy
the voucher for her with money she had given him," Asrofi said.

He said he then approached Maya, who was sitting in her vehicle, and
was asking her about the fake money when he spotted the drug
paraphernalia next to her on the seat.

"I checked her purse and found a small packet containing one gram of
shabu-shabu, aluminum foil and other things," the officer testified.