Chief not too hasty, say police

JAKARTA: Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Nurfaizi yesterday defended National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo from accusations of undue haste in identifying Dwi Sumaji as the killer of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin.

"The police chief was not being too hasty. His statements were balanced and based on scientific investigation," Nurfaizi said yesterday according to Antara reports.

Lawyers for the defendant, Budi Santosa and Budi Hartono of the Yogyakarta office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute said on Saturday the police chief had been too hasty, had based his assumptions on one source of evidence and had ignored all other evidence.

Dibyo had earlier said that the police crime laboratory had found evidence that Dwi had beaten the Yogyakarta-based journalist to death in August.

"Police had studied existing evidence and cross-checked it," Nurfaizi said. "Investigations had been conducted in accordance with existing law."

"We are preparing a dossier on the suspect and will submit it soon to the prosecution. Let's just wait and see what happens in court," he said.

Fuad, known for his critical reporting on the local administration's policies, was beaten by unidentified persons on Aug. 13. He died three days later without regaining consciousness.

After weeks of slow progress, the police last month arrested Dwi Sumaji, declaring jealousy was his motive for killing.

The late Fuad had allegedly had an affair with Dwi's wife. Dwi's lawyers however said the arrest was made arbitrarily.

Marsiyem, Fuad's widow and the main witness, said Dwi did not look like the attacker she saw. (swe)