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.