JP/4/polly

JP/4/polly

Pollycarpus given physical exam by police

Eva C. Komandjaja
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the Garuda pilot at the center
of the investigation into the death of rights activist Munir, was
given a physical exam at National Police Headquarters on Monday
before being questioned by investigators.

Arriving at police headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday
morning, Pollycarpus was accompanied by his wife and two Garuda
employees, including Agus Sudrajat, a physician who wrote the
pilot a doctor's certificate to skip last week's scheduled police
questioning because of complications from a motorcycle accident
in February.

Pollycarpus' lawyer, Suhardi Somomoeljono, said his client had
to undergo a physical exam before investigators could question
him.

"We have to make sure that Pollycarpus is completely healthy
before the investigators begin questioning him," Suhardi said.

Munir died on Sept. 7, 2003, during a Garuda flight from
Jakarta to Amsterdam. An autopsy conducted by the Dutch
authorities found excessive amounts of arsenic in his body,
indicating the activist may have been murdered.

A government-sanctioned fact-finding team has said that
Pollycarpus might have been involved in Munir's death. The team
said Pollycarpus offered his business-class seat to Munir during
the trip from Jakarta to Singapore, and there is suspicion the
poisoning took place during this leg of the trip.

Investigators have also found discrepancies in Pollycarpus'
assignment as an aviation security officer on Munir's flight.

The medical staff at National Police Headquarters examined
Pollycarpus, who spent the previous two nights at the Soekanto
Police Hospital in Kramat Jati to undergo tests.

Hadi Jaya, one of the medical personnel involved in the exam,
said that although there were some complications from the earlier
motorcycle accident, Pollycarpus was physically able to be
questioned by officers.

Suhardi said that in addition to the physical exam, his client
was also administered psychological tests to determine his mental
fitness. These tests were given after Pollycarpus talked apparent
nonsense during a meeting with members of the House of
Representatives two weeks ago.

Pollycarpus also was given a lie detector test on Monday
afternoon.

A source at police headquarters said the results of Monday's
physical exam were positive, meaning Pollycarpus was healthy and
that officers might begin questioning him on Tuesday.