New team must probe Udin case

JAKARTA (JP): Police should establish a new team to investigate the unsolved murder of Yogyakarta-based Bernas daily journalist, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, a leading police expert said.

Former national police operational chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Koesparmono Irsan said here yesterday that it would be best to establish a new team to investigate the murder.

"It's a simple case actually, all that is needed is the political will from the police to do that," Koesparmono told journalists. "Besides it's the police's job to find the killer."

Koesparmono said a new team could take a fresh look at the case and pursue hard facts and evidence rather than premeditated plots such as those pursued by the previous team.

The murder of Bernas journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, better known as Udin, grabbed national headlines. It reached a climax last week when the Bantul District Court exonerated the sole suspect of the murder Dwi Sumaji, alias Iwik, from all charges.

Many had suggested from the start that there was little evidence against Iwik, and even the prosecution initially rejected the police dossier on Iwik four times.

There were also no witnesses or even circumstantial evidence to support the charge that Iwik had murdered Udin on the night of Aug. 13, 1996.

Iwik himself said he had been put under duress to falsely admit to the crime.

Many observers questioned the methods used by the police to obtain evidence, including devising a plot which made it look as if Iwik murdered Udin because he was having an affair with his wife.

It is widely believed that Udin was murdered because of his investigative reporting of corruption in the area.

In the end, the prosecution themselves asked the case to be dropped.

Iwik's lawyers said after the trial last week that they were ready to represent Iwik should he decide to sue the police.

Koesparmono, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, pointed yesterday at some leads, such as people who visited Udin on the night of the murder, as leads the new team of investigators could pursue.

Commenting on the possibility of a suit, Koesparmono said "legally" it was difficult since the police's responsibility had been passed on to prosecutors.

"A better step to take is for the police to ask Eddy Wuryanto (head of the investigation) to be responsible. But this is the internal affairs of the police," he said.

"Punishment could be handed down to Eddy if an examination later proved him wrong in carrying out his job," he said.

According to Koesparmono, police should be as transparent as possible in reinvestigating the case and the internal examination of policeman Cpt. Eddy.

National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo has said that should new evidence or new suspects emerge, the murder case could be reopened. (aan)