Revenge By Law's
ARTICLE 27
The trial resumed when a tall, burly man entered the courtroom. He was wearing a dark blue uniform and in his hands was clutched in a beret hat. Like the previous witnesses, the clerk took his vows first before he sat down in the witness seat.
“Good, need to be reminded, You have been sworn so that you are expected to provide information in accordance with what you experience, You see and You hear. If you do not do so, then you will be considered to swear a perjury and can be prosecuted in accordance with article 242 paragraph 1 of the Penal Code. Brother understands?
“Understanding, Your Excellency.”
“Good, I'll start asking. Previously, have you ever given a statement until compiled News Event Check this case?”
“Earlier, Your Excellency.”
“Is the description you gave us correct?”
“Already, Your Excellency.”
“When giving a description, are you forced or in a depressed state?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Good, now tell us briefly about what you know about this.”
“I don't know much about this case, Your Majesty. All I know is that I, as a firefighter, was in charge of fighting the fire that occurred at Mischa house on Alam Raya road number 37.”
“Oh, so Brother was on duty at the time?”
“True, Your Highness.”
“How many people were on duty at the time?”
“Six people, Your Highness.”
“Siblings Position?”
“I am the commander of his squad, Your Highness.”
“Oh, I see,” said the presiding judge while nodding. “Means only one car?”
“True, Your Highness.”
“Can? Because of what I saw, the house was very big and everything was burnt.”
“Can, Your Majesty. Because when we arrived at the site, the fire was almost past the peak stage and would go into the fire subside stage. So, we no longer have any trouble putting it out, Your Majesty.”
“Please briefly explain about the stages of the fire,” pinta one of the member judges.
“Good, Your Majesty. The first is the level of ignition or the appearance of fire. The second is the growth stage, in which at this stage the fire begins to burn objects around it. And if the heat in the room is unstable, then the potential for flashover, where previously the fire only occurred partially will suddenly and simultaneously burned entirely. Then the full combustion stage or peak stage. At this stage, all flammable items will be lit up in their entirety. This is the most dangerous stage, especially if there are people still trapped inside the building. And the last is the fire stage subsides or recedes. At this stage, the fire begins to recede as the flammable material shrinks and the temperature begins to fall.”
“Means it can be said the arrival of the fire department is very late, yes?”
“Yes, Your Honor. This is because the location of the incident is far from the homes of other residents so that the fire reports that entered us were also very late. Plus the location of the incident is quite far from the fire office and must pass several points that are prone to congestion even at night."
The three judges discussed for a moment after hearing the explanation from the witness. Then the presiding judge said, “Brother legal counsel, please ask a question on the witness.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” replied Indira. Then he turned his eyes to the officer. “According to witnesses, looking at the condition of TKP, is the cause of the fire due to electrical short circuit or is there a possibility caused by something else?”
“Doubt, Your Grace. Witnesses are fact witnesses, not expert witnesses. So, should the legal counsel not ask about the witness opinion.”
“True,” the witness replied while nodding.
“Please proceed, Brother legal counsel,” said the presiding judge who upset prosecutor Jerold again.
“What indicates the cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit?”
“We found the MCB at the scene in a broken state.”
Abi whispered something to Indira which made the woman nod. Although it has been discussed before, Indira is still a little confused because it does not really master the field of electricity.
“Can you explain the relationship between MCB and the electrical short circuit that caused the fire?”
The witness was confused when he received a question from Indira. It was not that he did not know the answer, but that he doubted whether to answer in general or that the lawyer needed a more detailed answer.
“Brother advisor, does it matter? Because it is quite common knowledge,” said the presiding judge.
“Important, Your Honor. This has to do with the accused's alibi.”
“Good, then, Brother witness please answer the question.”
“Good, Your Majesty,” said the witness. “MCB or Miniature Circuit Breaker is a device used to limit electric current and safety when there is more load. MCB works to automatically break the electric current when the current passing through it exceeds the nominal current on the MCB. If the MCB is in good condition, when there is damage to the electrical system such as a short circuit, then the MCB will automatically turn off. However, because the MCB on the house was damaged, the MCB did not die despite an electrical short circuit that caused the fire.”
Indira returned to discuss with Abi. Long enough, so the judge reminded them not to waste time just to discuss in private.
“Izin, Your Grace. We want to present evidence in the form of damaged MCB found at TKP.”
“Good, please, Brother legal counsel,” said the judge.
Moments later, an officer brought evidence wrapped in transparent plastic. Then Indira directed the evidence to be examined by witnesses.
“Is it true that you and your fellow officers found at the scene?”
“True.”
Indira let out a long sigh and asked again, “How did you know the MCB was broken just by looking at it?”
“There are traces of melt in some parts of surface MCB.”
“Is there any chance of the melt occurring due to heat from outside?”
The witness did not answer. He thought for a moment and then spoke doubtfully, “Maybe.”
The courtroom again began to row with whispers of court visitors who made the presiding judge give a warning.
“We submitted testing for this MCB, Your Honor. If it turns out that this MCB is still good, then the possibility of causing a fire due to an electrical short circuit must be killed. That is, there is a possibility of intentional burning, which our clients are unlikely to do because they have a strong alibi. And most likely the arsonist is also the perpetrator of the murder of Mischa Radjasa.”
The uproar in the courtroom is back, even bigger than before. The presiding judge, who was still shocked by Indira's statement, forgot to appease the trial visitors.
“Good, request from Brother legal advisor accepted. To prepare for the MCB testing, the trial will be suspended until 1 pm.”
The presiding judge hit his hammer and left with the two member judges. Indira cheered happily and unconsciously hugged Abi. Although feeling uncomfortable and surprised because of the hug, Abi just smiled letting Indira vent her joy.
Then Abi realized there was a pair of eyes that were looking at him sharply. The view from prosecutor Jerold. He returned the gaze without the slightest trepidation.
