Real bullet found exhumed body of Trisakti student
JAKARTA (JP): A real bullet was removed from the body of one of four Trisakti University students killed during a demonstration on May 12, a forensic expert said yesterday.
Mun'im Idries of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said the body was exhumed yesterday from South Jakarta's Tanah Kusir Cemetery at the request of the Jakarta Military Police Command in order to remove the bullet from the body of Heri Hartanto.
"The bullet was found in the left chest of Heri's decomposed body," Mun'im told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
He reiterated that Heri and his three friends -- Elang Mulya, Hendriawan Sie and Hafidhin Royan -- were shot dead with live ammunition.
Mun'im, who examined the bodies at Sumber Waras hospital on May 12, said he managed to remove only one real bullet from Hendriawan's neck that night.
"We could not remove the one from Heri's chest that night because of the crowded situation at the hospital," he said, adding that Elang and Hafidhin were shot in the chest and head respectively, but the bullets had exited their bodies.
The four students were shot dead in a large demonstration at the university campus on Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta after hundreds of police and soldiers tried to disperse them.
The military police have named 18 suspects in the shooting, all of whom are police officers. Two of the suspects faced their first court-martial session Saturday.
Jakarta Military Police Commander Col. Hendardji told the Post yesterday that the bullet taken from Heri's body was needed as evidence in the case.
"At first, Heri's family refused to give permission for the exhumation, but changed their minds on Saturday after consulting with Moslem scholars.
"We took the bullet, a 5.56 mm caliber from a Steyr AUG rifle, Sunday morning at Tanah Kusir Cemetery," Hendardji said.
The bullet has been submitted to the National Police Forensic Laboratory for further investigation, he said.
"The ballistics report will determine who was responsible. It will uncover the truth behind the fatal shooting. I expect the report to be submitted to us soon."
Hendardji said the bullet, as new evidence, could be used to strengthen the charges against the suspects, who have been charged under Article 338 of the Criminal Code on murder. The article carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
When asked about the possibility of finding further suspects based on new findings (such as the bullet from Heri), Hendardji said the case would develop and new suspects may emerge.
"We are sure that the 18 suspects are responsible for the incident," he said.
If there are new suspects, he said, their names will come from subordinates of the eight middle-rank police officers in charge of security when the incident happened.
"The suspects might have used live ammunition due to a deviation in the procedure of ammunition distribution from their home base," he said.
Based on that, he said, it was possible that officers in charge of distributing ammunition could be named as suspects.
Separately, National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo reiterated Saturday that none of the police officers on duty during the demonstration had been armed with live ammunition.
"We have checked with every officer assigned there and found that none of our men used live ammunition," Dibyo said after formally installing Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi as new Central Java Police chief, replacing Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman who became the new city police chief. (jun/edt)