De Guzman's autopsy completed this week
De Guzman's autopsy completed this week
MANILA (AP): A second autopsy of a Filipino geologist who fell
to his death from a helicopter in Indonesia amid controversy over
his gold find will be completed this week, an official said
yesterday.
The second autopsy was requested by the family of Michael de
Guzman, chief geologist of the Canadian mining firm Bre-X, to
verify whether he had an incurable disease as his alleged suicide
note states.
De Guzman's brother Jojo said the family doubts the statement
because medical tests in late February gave him a "clean bill of
health."
Forensic experts expect to finish all the tests on de Guzman
within the week, an official at the National Bureau of
Investigation said.
However, the bureau will not be able to release the results
without the consent of de Guzman's family, he said.
De Guzman, 41, discovered Bre-X's mining claim in Busang town
in Borneo, an island in Indonesia. He claimed the mine may
contain up to 200 million ounces of gold worth US$77 billion,
which would make it the richest gold find this century.
De Guzman fell to his death from a helicopter on March 19
while en route to the Busang site. The pilot of the helicopter
said de Guzman must have jumped, and police said they found a
suicide note in which the geologist said he was taking his life
because of illness.
A week later, Bre-X admitted the find may not be as big as it
believed. The company's American partner, Freeport-McMoRan Copper
and Gold, said there were "insignificant" amounts of gold at the
site, leading to a frenzied sell-off of Bre-X stock.
Jojo de Guzman said Monday that his brother could not have
written the 10-page suicide note during the 17 minutes he was
aboard the helicopter.
"Writing that letter aboard a helicopter was impossible," he
said. "The letter was so neatly written. It was so orderly. It
was also impossible to write such a long letter on such a short
time."
He said the family also doubts the authenticity of the note
because it misspells the name of de Guzman's wife. Instead of
"Teresa," the note says "Theresa," he said.
An earlier autopsy was conducted by Indonesian doctors.