Accused killer declares his innocence

Accused killer declares his innocence

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The man accused of killing journalist Fuad
Muhammad Syafruddin insisted he was innocent and refused to
continue with a murder reconstruction the police staged Monday.

Dwi Sumaji, the accused, said he had never set foot in the
journalist's home in Bantul, south of Yogyakarta, and could not
therefore "enact" the killing as police ordered him to do.

During the reconstruction that began at 10:30 p.m., Monday
night, safeguarded by some 1,000 security officers, police
officers tried to make the accused enact a number of possible
scenarios of the assault that took place on Aug. 13. After
several tries, Dwi balked.

"I don't even know Syafruddin, I've never set foot in his
house, I swear by the name of Allah," Dwi cried, running back to
the police car.

Police accused Eko Widiyanto, one of the suspect's lawyers
from the Legal Aid Institute, of disrupting the reconstruction
process. But Djufri Taufik, another of Dwi's lawyers, accused
police officers of "commanding Dwi to do everything" from the
moment he stepped out of the police car.

Police arrested Dwi, a driver at a local advertising firm, on
Oct. 21, on suspicion of killing Fuad. The journalist, better
known as Udin, died three days after an attack on him without
regaining consciousness.

Udin was well known for his critical reporting on the
Yogyakarta and Bantul regency administration policies. His death
received wide media coverage because of a number of reported
oddities in the police investigation procedures, including the
manner of arresting Dwi.

Udin's wife, Marsiyem, was not present during the
reconstruction because she was too ill. Chief of the Yogyakarta
provincial prosecutors office Asrief Adam said the absence of the
main witness rendered the procedure incomplete.

He said the reconstruction had not been conducted in
accordance with instructions from the prosecutors office.

"The procedure should have involved both the key witness and
suspect," Asrief said.

Police dossiers on the accused were rejected last month
because they were deemed incomplete. On Dec. 2, the prosecutors
office issued an explanation detailing areas still to be
completed in the dossiers.

The team of lawyers for Dwi and Marsiyem yesterday said the
prosecutors office should declare the procedure legally invalid.
(23/06)