Guzman's death still a mystery

Guzman's death still a mystery

MANILA (AFP): An autopsy conducted on the body of a Filipino geologist who apparently committed suicide is unlikely to explain the mystery behind his death, a Philippine diplomat said yesterday.

Michael de Guzman, a geologist for Canada's Bre-X Minerals, apparently jumped from a helicopter last month in East Kalimantan, days before the company revealed it had considerably overvalued the resources in a new gold mine he helped develop.

Philippine consul-general to Manado, Isias Begonia said he was present at an autopsy on De Guzman's body on March 25.

Four Indonesian forensic experts, including Yohanes Libut, whom the Philippine diplomat brought along with him to serve as an "objective witness to the autopsy," conducted the autopsy.

"When they opened the body, it was already in the advance state of decomposition. His internal organs were gone," Begonia said in a telephone interview.