Thones' death still puzzling as no bullet wounds found

JAKARTA (JP): The cloud of mystery surrounding the death of Dutch reporter Sander Thoenes thickened on Wednesday when a former East Timor military commander said doctors had found no gunshot wounds in the slain journalist's body.

Previously he was suspected to have been shot to death.

Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, the former chief of the restoration command in East Timor, said Indonesian doctors who conducted an autopsy after Thoenes was found dead in the Dili suburb of Becora on Sept. 21, found no bullet wounds.

The statement only adds to the mystery involving the death of the Financial Times correspondent as a later reported autopsy in Australia claimed that bullet holes were found.

Kiki, who was brought in to head up a special command to restore order in the wake of violence which swept the former province following the historic Aug. 30 ballot, said foreign troops stationed in East Timor at the time corroborated with the findings.

"Even the officers of the International Force in East Timor (Interfet) said that he didn't have gunshot wounds," Kiki, who is now chief the Udayana Military Command overseeing security in Bali and Nusa Tenggara, said.

Thoenes died just hours after he arrived in Dili. He had hired motorcycle driver Florindo Araujo to take him around Dili.

Araujo in September claimed that he took Thoenes to Becora suburb where they encountered a roadblock.

They turned around and were chased by several men in cars who fired warning shots.

The men then fired directly at the rear wheel, deflating it.

Araujo said it looked like the men were preparing to shoot again so he fled and left Thoenes laying in the street.

Thoenes body was found the next day with multiple wounds and an ear missing.

Kiki on Wednesday said that the military together with Interfet had formed an investigation team in the case soon after Thoenes's body was discovered, but it was suspended due to lack of evidence and witnesses.

"The only witness in the incident, Lorindo da Consesoun, had been fled to Australia and his whereabouts is unknown," he claimed.

Kiki spoke to journalists on Wednesday after he was summoned to the Attorney General's Office to give his account of the violence which took place in East Timor.

The military has denied allegations of their involvement in Thoenes' death.

Speaking of the violence which swept the territory, Kiki said all conflicting parties in East Timor, including the prointegration groups, should be held responsible.

"Even the Armed Forces there," he added.

The special investigation team posed 17 questions during the four-hour questioning focusing on Kiki's role as military chief during an 18 day period of martial law beginning on the 9th of September.

"Nothing much happened during that time," he said. (01)