Regent faces probe over murder case

JAKARTA (JP): The home affairs ministry promised yesterday to look into reports that the Bantul regent was involved in the August murder of Yogyakarta journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafrudin.

Ministry inspector general Soedarjat Nataatmadja said the ministry would conduct its own investigation into the murder of the Bernas daily journalist if police implicate the regent, Col. Sri Roso Sudarmo.

Police in Yogyakarta said last week they have finished questioning the only suspect, Dwi Sumaji, and would submit the dossiers to the prosecutors' office "soon".

"If the police implicate the regent, we will conduct our own investigation into the case," Soedarjat said.

Syafrudin, better known as Udin, was attacked at his home on Aug. 13. He died without regaining consciousness after three days in intensive care in Bethesda Hospital. He is survived by a wife and two children.

His death drew concern from fellow journalists, who demanded a thorough investigation into the murder.

The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), which established its own fact-finding team, concluded that Udin was murdered because of his reporting on land disputes and the mismanagement of poverty alleviation program funds in the Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.

The association's findings were similar to the analysis of some observers, who believe the articles on land disputes caused the attack on him.

The police have insisted all along that the murder had nothing to do with the journalist's job. They arrested Sumaji because they believe he murdered Udin in a jealous rage.

Meanwhile, the National Commission on Human Rights, which also established a fact-finding team to investigate the murder case, announced in its findings: that it doubted police had caught Udin's murderer, and that it had found human rights violations occurred during the arrest and the investigation of Sumaji. (imn)