Morgue activities paralyzed after attack

JAKARTA (JP): The morgue at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta was devoid of activity on Tuesday, following an incident on Monday in which relatives of a murder victim ran amok.

Doctors and staff said they were still in shock. "We feel unsafe doing our job," forensic expert Agus Purwadianto, who sustained slight injuries in the attack, told The Jakarta Post.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman said 14 people were being questioned about the incident by the Central Jakarta Police. He said they could be charged with a number of crimes.

The possible charges against the men, including Hercules, a reputed gang leader, could include "torture, vandalism and issuing threats", Mulyono said at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

As of Tuesday afternoon five bodies had been left at the morgue's entrance, a few of which were not accompanied by any family members. No autopsies were performed on Tuesday, and 10 bodies which arrived on Monday and Tuesday remained unexamined.

Agus said it would require at least two or three days for activities at the morgue to return to normal.

"We're waiting for the results of the police investigation," he said.

Dozens of police officers were guarding the morgue, where shattered windows, broken equipment and spots of dried blood were visible.

Some 40 people ran amok at the morgue on Monday afternoon following an autopsy on Fernando Helio Parada. The 30-year-old, who helped coordinate parking at Bengkel Night Park in South Jakarta, was stabbed to death after he reportedly demanded money from the occupants of a vehicle.

The relatives of the victim reportedly were angry because they believed an autopsy had been performed on Fernando without their consent. Morgue officials, however, said the victim's wife and heir had been notified.

The hospital's management filed a report about the incident with the Central Jakarta Police on Tuesday afternoon, Central Jakarta Police deputy chief of detectives Sr. Insp. Sutrisno said.

Meanwhile on Monday night, Hercules and other relatives of Fernando filed a complaint with the police against RSCM for what they called an unauthorized autopsy.

Hercules said other people, not related to Fernando, were involved in the incident at RSCM. He said these people sided with the relatives in the disagreement with morgue officials.

A number of relatives of Fernando continued to stand watch over his body at the morgue on Tuesday, while others accompanied his widow, Anastasia Bunga, to a Central Jakarta hospital, where she delivered her fourth child. (07/jaw)