Five suspects in RSCM morgue mayhem

JAKARTA (JP): Police announced on Wednesday that they were investigating five suspects who were believed to have been involved in the mayhem which occurred in the morgue of Central Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital on Monday.

"The five suspects are among 14 people who are being questioned over their alleged involvement in the incident," Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Insp. Mathius Salempang said.

However, Mathius declined to reveal the names of the suspects, saying that they were still under police investigation for their violent acts, which included an attack on a morgue official.

Meanwhile, doctors and staffers had returned to the morgue on Wednesday, but no autopsies were being performed due to a lack of equipment. Most of the morgue's equipment was damaged during the attack.

"Hopefully, activities at the morgue will return to normal tomorrow (Thursday)," Budi Sampurna, a forensic expert, told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 16 bodies remained unexamined, while two others had been taken home by their relatives after preliminary observations had been conducted by morgue staff. Several police officers were still guarding the morgue.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the body of Fernando Helio Parada, the victim of an early morning brawl at the Bengkel Night Park in South Jakarta on Monday, was taken by his relatives, including Hercules, an allegedly notorious hoodlum, to the St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta.

Some 40 people ran amok at the morgue on Monday afternoon following the conducting of an autopsy on Fernando, a 30-year-old parking coordinator at the Bengkel Night Park, who was stabbed to death after he reportedly demanded money from the occupants of a vehicle.

The relatives of the victim were said to be enraged because they believed an autopsy had been performed on Fernando without their consent. Morgue officials, however, said that the victim's wife and heir had been notified. (07)