Journalist died in accident: Military

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): The military said yesterday a traffic accident was the cause of the recent death of journalist Muhammad Sayuti Haji Buchori, better known as Sanrego.

Wirabuana regional military commander Maj. Gen. Agum Gumelar said Sayuti's death "had nothing to do" with his investigative reporting on corruption in Luwu subdistrict, details of which was published in the latest edition of the Pos Makassar weekly.

"It was a pure accident. Don't believe the theories that he was killed because of his news reports," Agum said at a press conference.

Also present at the briefing were provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Ali Hanafiah and several local military and police officers.

The South Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Journalists Association, sensing something fishy in the reporter's death, has formed its own fact-finding team to investigate the case.

Sayuti was found unconscious on Jl. Garuda in Luwu at about midday June 9. The police said they had witnesses who saw him fall off his motorbike while he was trying to avoid colliding with a truck.

The deceased's relatives said they found head and neck wound, which suggested that the reporter might have been beaten up.

Apparently unsatisfied with the authorities' explanation, Pos Makassar has referred the case to a lawyer, A. Rudiyanto Asapa, who will team up with lawyers of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute to probe further. (37/pan)