Jakarta – A weapons and ballistics expert testified in court on Thursday that two different guns were used to shoot Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, the director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, in the case review of former KPK chief Antasari Azhar.
Widodo Hardjo Prawito, the ballistics expert whom Antasari's legal team presented as an expert witness, based his statements on the fact that there was a major divergence of land width between the two bullets that were found inside Nasrudin's head. He called land width "the fingerprints" of guns.
"Based on the forensic report, [the two bullets] came from different guns," Widodo said during the presentation of the minutes of the examination in a case review hearing at the South Jakarta District Court.
Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari was sentenced to 18 years for his involvement in masterminding the murder of Nasrudin in 2009.
Nasruddin was killed in his car in a drive-by shooting by a man on the back of a motorcycle.
Widodo said the two bullets that struck Nasrudin must have been fired at different times, as one of the bullets was intact while the other had splintered.
Forensic investigators found two bullet holes in the window of Nasrudin's car. Based on the bullets' shapes, however, Widodo testified that only one of the bullets had penetrated the glass, while the other one was shot in "open" conditions.
"If a bullet penetrates glass, it becomes fractured and later it will be fragmented [when it enters the victim]," Widodo said. "But one of the bullets was found intact."
Widodo said that even though the two bullets were from similar pistols, it was clear that they were fired from two different guns.
Based on the forensic report, the first bullet had a land width of 2.42 to 2.66 millimeters while the second was 2.41 to 2.61 millimeters, which was a divergence that Widodo said was "impossible" to produce from the same weapon.
In response to Widodo's testimony, Antasari's lawyer, S.F. Marbun, told The Jakarta Post that the fact that the bullets came from two pistols is new evidence to be considered by the judges before deciding the verdict.
He also said that two pistols should be used as evidence instead of only one, citing a possibility of missing evidence in the case. "If there are two pistols, then what happened to the other one?" Marbun said.
Critics said that the murder was set up to frame the former KPK boss, whose firm approach during his tenure as KPK chief successfully sent several top government officials and high-profile House lawmakers behind bars.
The Judicial Commission has observed the case and recommended that the Supreme Court sanction the panel of judges who presided over the Antasari trial because they had ignored critical evidence.
Andi Syamsuddin, the younger brother of Nasrudin, also attended the hearing and said he was willing to reveal everything regarding his brother's murder but only if his safety was guaranteed.
"I will only give information if there is protection from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency [LPSK]," he said.
Andi appeared in court as a witness for Antasari. He said that he did not know nor did he have any interest in Antasari, but was keen to uphold justice for his brother's sake.
Andi told the court that before his brother's autopsy, a policeman came to him to ask whether Nasrudin had a stepdaughter named Rani Yulianti. When Andi said he did not, the policeman immediately said that the motive of the murder was a love triangle.
Antasari said that Andi's account of that incident raised suspicions. "The investigation had not begun, but the motive was already known," he said. (sat)