Conversation

The following is a part of a scene in a court house in a city in Indonesia. The defendant, Mr. Lele
has been charged with murder. He has accused of murdering Mr. Lolo by pushing the victim
from the balcony down to the swimming pool in his yard. Many people were present in the
court house including the prosecutor, the defendant and his defence lawyer, the judge and
some law students.

The Murder Trial of Mr. Lolo

Prosecutor : Mr. Lele, did you push Mr. Lolo off the balcony of your house?
Mr. Lele : No, i did not
Prosecutor : The body was found in the swimming pool of your house. According to the
medical report, he died because of drowning.
Mr. Lele : he died in my swimming pool, all right. But i did not push him into it.
He might have been attacted by something. Who knows?
Prosecutor : Did he come to your house that night?
Mr. Lele : Yes, he did.
Prosecutor :was he alone or was he accompanied by some friends?
Mr. Lele : he was alone.
Prosecutor : what was the purpose of the visit?
Mr. Lele : he asked me for money. He said he borrowed money from a number of
people and that night he was chased by creditors.
Prosecutor : did he ever borrow money from you?
Mr. Lele : he never borrowed money for me; he only asked for it for me
Prosecutor : will you please explain the nature of his visit that night?
Mr. Lele : well, Mr. Lolo looked drunk. There was something strange in his eyes.
So i just left him and went into my room. I always left him alone whenever he
came to me drunk. Then... that night, after a few minutes, all i knew... he was
died in the swimming pool.
During the trial, a physician from the general hospital was summoned to give a complete medical
report on the victim. The doctor was also asked to form an opinion based on his proffesion as a
medical doctor. According to the doctor, the victim was under a heavy dose of narcotics when he
came to see Mr. Lele on the balcony that night. That was why he was a little shaky anf strange. At
that time the victim was in a “flydrunken” state. Because of the sense of fly, he jumped all by him
self into the swimming pool and and hit his head against the side of the pool. This was proven by
the fact that there is no indication of anybody pushing him from the balcony down into the pool. At
the end of the session, the death of Mr. Lolo was ruled accident by the presiding judge.

Answer the questions.

1. Who are present in the court house ?
2. Who are Mr. Lele and Mr. Lolo?
3. What is the relationship between Mr. Lele and Mr. Lolo?
4. Why did the victim come to see Mr. Lele?
5. What did the medical report show?
6. How did Mr. Lolo died?
7. Why was the victim in a fly-drunken state?
8. Did Mr. Lolo always borrow money from Mr. Lele?
9. How was the death of Mr. Lolo ruled by the judge?
The following are words that are frequently used in the field of law,
especially in courtroom trials.

Homicide (n) Homicidal (adj.) Noun : kata benda

Client (n Cliental (adj.) *rare Verb : kata kerja
Evident (adj.) Evidence (n) Adj. (adjective) : kata sifat
Investigate (v) Investigation (n)
Try (v) Trial (n)
Detective (n) Detect (v)
Prosecution (n) Prosecute (v)
Crime (n) Criminal (adj.)
Smuggle (v) Smuggler (n)/(smuggling)
Witness (v) Witness (n)
Testimony (n) Testify (v)
Enforce (v) Envorcement (n)
Administration (n) Administer (v)
Approval (n) Approve (v)
Decide (v) Decision (n)

Instruction : Choose the correct forms of the words.

1. (Homicide / Homicidal) is common in slum areas since people become desperate because
of the poor conditions.
2. It was by (decide / decision) of the court that the father has the custody of the child.

3. Two kilograms of marijuana is being held by the police as (evidence / evident) in the case
against the drug pushers.

4. Next week the court will hear the (testimony / testify) of six witnesses called in by public
prosecutor.

5. The defendant was charged with (smuggling / smuggler) marijuana to Indonesia from
Malaysia through the unguarded coastal area of Sumatra.

6. During the trial every (witness / witnesses) was called to give evidence under the oath : “I
swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
7. With the (approval / approve) of the presiding judge, the public prosecutor asked the
witness a few more questions.

8. Police (investigate / investigation) revealed (mengungkapkan) that the prisoner had used
acid to destroy the body of his victim.
9. It is usually not a (crime / criminal) when you kill someone to self defense.
10. The (prosecution / prosecute) of the corruptor was in the interest of society.
11. The (try / trial) was lengthly and tiring, so the presiding judge called for a recess.
12. Public servants will (enforcement / enforce) the new tax regulations starting next month.

13. In the United States, private (detective / detects) are often hired to investigate murder
cases.

14. The defense lawyer cannot get along very well with his (client / cliental) since they come
from different ethnic groups.

15. Justice has not been (administered / administration) very well since the new regime has
taken over the country (rezim baru telah mengambil alih negara).