Syafruddin murder suspect arrested

Syafruddin murder suspect arrested

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested a man suspected of
killing Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, a journalist of the Bernas
daily, in August.

The suspect, identified as Kiwik, was arrested Monday in the
vicinity of Sleman regency, 14 kilometers north of here. Police
also seized a 35-centimeter iron bar from the suspect that he
allegedly used to beat Fuad, better-known as Udin, to death with,
a long-sleeve T-shirt, a pair of sneakers and a blue scooter.

One of Kiwik's police-appointed lawyers, Triandi Mulkan, told
reporters here yesterday that his client had admitted to killing
Udin, but claimed that he did not do it intentionally.

"He told the police he initially only wanted to warn Udin,"
Triandi said. He did not elaborate, however.

Udin, 35, died after an unknown group of people attacked him
in his home in Bantul, Yogyakarta on Aug. 13. It is strongly
suspected that Udin's death was brought about because of his
critical reporting on certain people.

Kiwik's wife, Suwarti, reportedly called the newspaper's
office Monday afternoon to tell the daily that the police had
arrested her husband on charges of killing Udin.

The information of the arrest instantly drew dozens of
reporters to the Yogyakarta police headquarters in search of
confirmation. Yogyakarta Police Chief Mulyono Sulaiman declined
to comment.

According to Triandi, his client had been interrogated twice
by the police. During the first round of questioning, when he was
not accompanied by a lawyer, Kiwik reportedly admitted to the
crime and claimed he committed it out of jealousy over a woman.

During the second interrogation, in front of his three
lawyers, Kiwik reportedly "looked unstable" and could not explain
why he had killed Udin, Triandi said.

The questioning session was then halted, he said.

Triandi and many reporters said Kiwik's face did not match the
one reconstructed from witnesses and sketched by a Yoyakarta
artist shortly after the journalist's murder.

Kiwik's wife, Suwarti, who attended the same senior high
school as Udin, works as a dressmaker and a hairdresser. She
reportedly had not seen Udin for a long time. (30/26)