Mother denies reports of Jumadi's death
Mother denies reports of Jumadi's death
JAKARTA (JP): Street singer Jumadi, who was reported as
murdered last week during the two-day violent demonstrations in
the capital, is receiving care in the intensive care unit at
Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.
"Jumadi's condition has improved as he can talk now.
"But, he may lose one of his lungs, as the bullet has severely
damaged his left lung," his mother, Iti Mariati, said on Monday.
The 14-year-old Jumadi was admitted to the hospital on Friday
night, after he sustained a gunshot wound during the violent
demonstration against the endorsement of the state security bill
by the House of Representatives.
A convoy of military trucks reportedly opened fire at a crowd
on Jl. Sudirman, wounding the young man.
Over the past four months, Junadi has been helping out his
parents, who have been suffering financial problems.
Since the incident, some financial assistance has come from
friends of the injured man.
"Two persons have donated some money. But, the rest of the
bill will still be too much for us to pay," his mother said.
The violent demonstrations last week also brought anguish and
uncertainty to the parents of Fadly Muchtar, who was one of the
eight people killed over the two days of protests.
"We've lost our only son, who financially supported us in the
past two years.
"We're just cigarette vendors, it was our son Fadly who took
care of us," Muchtar, father of the 20-year-old Fadly, said after
their son's burial procession on Saturday.
Upon graduating from senior high school in mid-1997, Fadly
worked at PT Survey Research Indonesia.
On Thursday, Fadly did not return home from his work place.
Five of his colleagues, including his supervisor Chandra Munas,
took the initiative on Friday morning to check on his
whereabouts.
The colleagues visited three hospitals before being informed
that Fadly had been sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.
They said their colleague's body displayed two shot wounds in
the back and that his face was bruised. However, they were unable
to clarify the events surrounding his death, as police declined
to provide the family any information.
"He lost his soul and all his teeth. Also how could you
explain the bruises?" asked Fadly's mother, Mainiar.
Having heard from Fadly's colleagues about how unhelpful the
police were in providing information on Fadly's whereabouts, his
parents said that they were suspicious their son may have been
murdered by security officers. (03)