Report on death of Martadinata

This letter is in response to the reports on the death of Martadinata.

A visum et repertum (official autopsy report) is the result of a medical examination of a body given an autopsy because of a request from a police investigator. The result of the autopsy must be given to the party requesting the examination, while the doctor himself is committed to keeping his work confidential. The contents of a visum et repertum can be revealed to the public only by an authorized official, and this can be done after the report has gone through a selection process.

In certain circumstances, a doctor does indeed deem it necessary to reveal to the public part of the visum et repertum, for example in the context of "discovering" the identity of an unknown victim, or in the case of death of certain figures in society. Such a revelation is also possible if it is so desired by the community, and the doctor's failure to reveal the contents of this report may result in the obstruction of justice, such as in deaths resulting from torture, during detention/imprisonment, nonjudicial execution and so forth. This is in keeping with the main objective of forensic medicine, viz to protect society.

In revealing the result of an autopsy to the public, a doctor must bear in mind two things:

1. That what is reported is only concerned with something he has verified in accordance with the scientific truth of the science he pursues.

2. That the truth being reported is only the relevant part and that this should not be revealed at the expense of other people's feeling because truth is sometimes bitter.

Particularly with respect to the case of Martadinata's death, all statements made by a doctor in the media are not the official statements of the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine's Forensic Medicine Division, and the doctor is, therefore, personally responsible for them.

To end this letter, allow me to quote the words of wisdom by Andi Hakim Nasoetion (1992) that "to tell the truth is good but to be wise in saying things is even better."

DR. H. BUDI SAMPURNA

Head of Forensic Medicine Division

School of Medicine

University of Indonesia