50 students questioned over abused

50 students questioned over abused

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Police here were questioning around 50 students of the Public
Administration Institute (STPDN) in Sumedang, West Java, on
Thursday in connection with the mysterious death of a fellow
student, Wahyu Hidayat.

Wahyu, 20, died on Tuesday night after allegedly being beaten
by older students at the institute, which has a reputation for
imposing military-style discipline on its students.

Sumedang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Yoyok Subagyo, speaking
to journalists at the STPDN campus, said the preliminary
investigation confirmed that the victim had died from bullying.

Only 26 of the 50 students were later taken to the local
police station for further questioning about their roles in the
incident, he added.

An STPDN student, who requested anonymity, said senior
students had decided to teach Wahyu a "lesson" as they considered
him to have been disloyal.

The victim was subjected to bullying and beating for three
hours in an open area east of the institute's sports hall
starting at 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, the unnamed student said.

"After that, he (Wahyu) passed out and was taken to the first-
aid room on the campus. But he was already dead by the time he
got there," he added.

Another student said Wahyu was faulted by senior students for
failing to attend an annual meeting with West Java Governor Danny
Setiawan two weeks ago.

The meeting was deemed important by the older STPDN students,
who usually use the forum to ask for "pocket money" from the
governor on top of the Rp 5 million (US$595) allowance allocated
by the West Java provincial budget for each of the students from
the province.

Wahyu, from Bogor, West Java, was a first semester student at
the institute, which is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The alleged beating of Wahyu took place around the same time
as the announcement of the results of the latest intake of around
1,200 new students at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

STPDN administrators refused to comment on the killing, and
journalists and police officers were prevented by security guards
from entering the campus.

It was only at 5 p.m. that a team of police detectives was
finally allowed to enter.

A spokesman for the institute said its senate members were
discussing the imposition of academic sanctions on the senior
students believed to have been responsible for the death.

Wahyu's body was taken to the Al Islam Hospital in Bandung,
West Java, early on Wednesday.

A doctor at the hospital said Wahyu died from head injuries.
He did not elaborate further.

The STPDN had rejected the hospital's request that the
deceased's body be brought to Hasan Sadikin Hospital for an
autopsy, and instead sent it home to Bogor on Wednesday morning,
the doctor added.

In March 2000, STPDN student Erie Rakhman, 22, died after
being beaten by seven older students.

Erie died several hours after being taken to the Al Islam
Hospital. He is believed to have been beaten with a blunt object.

The seven students charged with the killing were convicted and
sentenced to jail terms by the Sumedang District Court.