Nursalim's kidnapper dies in jail

JAKARTA (JP): One of the kidnappers involved in the abduction of business tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim has been found dead in his cell at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

A postmortem examination concluded that Benny Supardi, 46, was in poor health and died from a medical condition, deputy chief of city police detectives Lt. Col. Bakat Purwanto said Thursday.

"We did not find any wounds which might have been caused by a physical assault on him."

Bakat said the suspect was found dead about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday in his cell at the penitentiary, where he was serving a jail term for violating articles 328 and 368 of the Criminal Code on kidnapping and bribery.

Benny was arrested last October while undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in Surabaya.

He was among eight people found guilty of the Sept. 2 kidnapping.

Nursalim, owner of the widely diversified Gajah Tunggal business group and Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia (BDNI), was abducted while making his way home to the elite Permata Hijau housing complex in South Jakarta.

The tycoon was held hostage for three days by the kidnappers, who demanded a ransom of Rp 15 billion.

Antara reported that Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman has ordered a thorough investigation into Benny's death.

Head of the penitentiary Soebari said Benny -- who was awaiting a decision on his appeal by Jakarta High Court -- died from a stroke.

"He fell to the floor (in his cell) when he tried to pick his meal up from the floor," Soebari said. "Officers who went to the scene examined him but Benny was already dead."

He said Benny had been ill since he arrived on Feb. 11 and doctors said that he had an extremely high blood pressure. (09/cst/bsr)