“Team is confident that David’s death was not due to suicide…”

The following is a TOC translation of an article on Detik News. We welcome any clarification if the translation is not accurate.

The Verification Team in the case of the death of David Widjaja, an Indonesian undergraduate who died in Nanyang Technology University (NTU) of Singapore has established that David had been killed, rather than committed suicide.

The leader of the Verification Team, Iwan Piliang, announced this at the press conference held at Restoran Munik, Jl Matraman Raya, Jakarta Timur, on Monday (13 April 2009). David’s father, Hartono Widjaja, and his wife was present, along with his brother William Hartono.

According to Iwan, the team has done a reconstruction of the events surrounding David’s death. From the reconstruction, the team is confident that David’s death was not due to suicide as alleged by NTU. The autopsy that David’s family received indicated 36 gaping wounds, of which 14 were from stab wounds.

“In general, the injury is at the hands. The rest were bruises, including the neck region and internally,” Iwan explained.

The team, along with the family and correspondent, have also visited Singapore. The team had wanted to meet with the NTU officials, but were not entertained. A similar request to meet Professor Chan Kap
Luck, who was reported to have been wounded by David before he died, was also declined.

Meanwhile, the leader of Komnas Anak, Seto Mulyadi, and Bung Tomo of Bambang Sulistomo also voiced their support for a thorough investigation to provide satisfactory closure to this case. According
to Seto Mulyadi, David was an Indonesian asset whose efforts in winning the Mathematics Olympiad should be appreciated by the government.

“The Education and National Ministers should have given the family legal help, including financing for a lawyer. But nobody has bothered so far; POLRI (Indonesian Police), Depdiknas (Education Ministry) and
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should be actively involved and aiding the family, since it concerns the sovereignty of the country,” he added.

Original article:

Jakarta – Tim Verifikasi Kasus Kematian David Widjaja, mahasiswa RI yang tewas Nanyang Technology University (NTU), Singapura meyakini David dibunuh bukan bunuh diri.Dari hasil otopsi, di tubuh David ditemukan 36 luka tusukan.

Demikian disampaikan Ketua Tim Verifikasi Kasus Kematian David, Iwan Piliang, dalam jumpa persnya di Restoran Munik, Jl Matraman Raya, Jakarta Timur, Senin (13/4/2009). Orang tua David, Hartono Widjaja dan istri, serta kakaknya, Wiliam Hartono ikut hadir dalam jumpa pers tersebut.

Menurut Iwan, tim verifikasi ini sudah melakukan rekonstruksi kematian David. Hasil rekonstruksi, tim meyakini David tewas dibunuh bukan bunuh diri seperti dinyatakan oleh NTU. Dari hasil otopsi yang diterima keluarga, di tubuh David terdapat 36 tusukan, 14 di antaranya luka oleh pisau.

“Umumnya luka berada di bagian tangan. Sisanya, luka memar, termasuk di bagian leher dan luka dalam,” jelas Iwan 

Tim bersama keluarga dan wartawan juga bertandang ke Singapura. Kunjungan tim ini untuk bertemu dengan pihak NTU, namun tidak diberi waktu. Penolakan tidak hanya oleh pihak NTU, tapi juga dari Profesor Chan Kap Luk. profesor yang diberitakan ditusuk oleh David sebelum mahasiswa ini meninggal.

Sementara itu, dukungan atas pengungkapan kasus tewasnya David Hartono ini juga mendapatkan dukungan dari Ketua Komnas Anak, Seto Mulyadi dan putra pahlawan Bung Tomo, Bambang Sulistomo. Kak Seto, panggilan akrab Seto Mulyadi menyatakan, David yang pernah menjadi juara Olimpiade Matematika merupakan aset bangsa Indonesia, seharusnya usahanya dihargai pemerintah.

“Sudah seharusnya Menteri Pendidikan dan Nasional turun tangan dan memberikan bantuan hukum, termasuk membantu pendanaan lawyer. Tapi ini semua pihak terkesan lepas tangan, Polri, Depdiknas dan Presiden SBY harus turun tangan, karena ini menjadi persoalan bangsa,” imbuhnya.

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