New team must probe Udin case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police should establish a new team to
\ninvestigate the unsolved murder of Yogyakarta-based Bernas daily
\njournalist, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, a leading police expert
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Former national police operational chief Maj. Gen. (ret)
\nKoesparmono Irsan said here yesterday that it would be best to
\nestablish a new team to investigate the murder.<\/p>\n
\"It's a simple case actually, all that is needed is the
\npolitical will from the police to do that,\" Koesparmono told
\njournalists. \"Besides it's the police's job to find the killer.\"<\/p>\n
Koesparmono said a new team could take a fresh look at the
\ncase and pursue hard facts and evidence rather than premeditated
\nplots such as those pursued by the previous team.<\/p>\n
The murder of Bernas journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin,
\nbetter known as Udin, grabbed national headlines. It reached a
\nclimax last week when the Bantul District Court exonerated the
\nsole suspect of the murder Dwi Sumaji, alias Iwik, from all
\ncharges.<\/p>\n
Many had suggested from the start that there was little
\nevidence against Iwik, and even the prosecution initially
\nrejected the police dossier on Iwik four times.<\/p>\n
There were also no witnesses or even circumstantial evidence
\nto support the charge that Iwik had murdered Udin on the night of
\nAug. 13, 1996.<\/p>\n
Iwik himself said he had been put under duress to falsely
\nadmit to the crime.<\/p>\n
Many observers questioned the methods used by the police to
\nobtain evidence, including devising a plot which made it look as
\nif Iwik murdered Udin because he was having an affair with his
\nwife.<\/p>\n
It is widely believed that Udin was murdered because of his
\ninvestigative reporting of corruption in the area.<\/p>\n
In the end, the prosecution themselves asked the case to be
\ndropped.<\/p>\n
Iwik's lawyers said after the trial last week that they were
\nready to represent Iwik should he decide to sue the police.<\/p>\n
Koesparmono, a member of the National Commission on Human
\nRights, pointed yesterday at some leads, such as people who
\nvisited Udin on the night of the murder, as leads the new team of
\ninvestigators could pursue.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the possibility of a suit, Koesparmono said
\n\"legally\" it was difficult since the police's responsibility had
\nbeen passed on to prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\"A better step to take is for the police to ask Eddy Wuryanto
\n(head of the investigation) to be responsible. But this is the
\ninternal affairs of the police,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Punishment could be handed down to Eddy if an examination
\nlater proved him wrong in carrying out his job,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Koesparmono, police should be as transparent as
\npossible in reinvestigating the case and the internal examination
\nof policeman Cpt. Eddy.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo has said that should
\nnew evidence or new suspects emerge, the murder case could be
\nreopened. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-team-must-probe-udin-case-1447893297",
"image": ""
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