Fresh row erupts over blood

YOGYAKARTA: A fresh row has erupted over the blood samples of slain journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin's that the police threw away.

Lawyers representing the journalist's widow, Marsiyem, denied yesterday the police accusation that she was seeking to "commercialize" the blood by filing a Rp 105-million (US$45,000) lawsuit.

Budi Hartono, from the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, said the accusation was groundless, and that the police did not understand the underlying philosophy of the legal action.

"In fact the justice that we are seeking cannot be measured in terms of money," Budi said.

Marsiyem filed the lawsuit against the chief of the Bantul police precinct and a detective for losing the blood samples they borrowed from her for their investigation into her husband's death.

Police said they dumped the sample in the Indian Ocean in the belief that they would obtain a divine blessing in their effort to identify the murderer of the Bernas daily journalist.

It is generally believed that his murder last August was connected to his investigative reporting of the alleged widespread corruption in the Bantul administration.

Critics have accused the police of a cover-up. The police have arrested a travel agent employee they believe is Safruddin's murderer but critics doubt he is guilty. (23)