'TPI' cameraman murdered

JAKARTA (JP): A cameraman of the private television network TPI died after being stabbed outside his house in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, on Wednesday, police said yesterday.

The man died after being refused treatment by two hospitals, who told his relatives that they did not have the facilities to cope with an emergency.

Capt. Fachrudin of the Palmerah police precinct said that M. Kamarullah bin Manaf, alias Akmal Chaniago, 40, died on his way to Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital on Wednesday night.

The police report described Akmal as having been stabbed with a sharp object in the left side of his chest.

The autopsy report, prepared by a forensic team of the University of Indonesia, described the cause of the death as murder.

Akmal is survived by his wife and a son.

Fachrudin said the perpetrators were still at large and the authorities were still studying the motives for the murder. He said it was possible that the murder was an act of revenge.

"We have been informed by his relatives that he didn't lose a single thing. His wallet and personal effects were still there," Fachrudin told reporters at the victim's residence.

He said that Akmal was stabbed on the street just outside his house at approximately 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"Nobody saw the incident because people in this neighborhood were already inside their houses on the rainy night," said Solihin, one of the victim's neighbors.

Solihin, a food vendor in the neighborhood, found Akmal lying in front of his small food stall, asking for help.

According to the police, Akmal was still strong enough to get away from his attacker. He came to the stall after he failed to wake up his family.

The nearby Patria Ika and Harapan Kita hospitals, to which he was rushed by relatives, refused to provide Akmal with treatment on the grounds that they had no emergency facilities.

He died on the way to Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital in Central Jakarta.

Yadi, Akmal's younger brother, said Akmal was unable to speak during the trip and did not, therefore, provide any information about the attack.

Police Officer Fachrudin said that the police would conduct an intensive investigation into the murder. "There's something suspicious behind his death," he said.

He said that the police would question Akmal's relatives to obtain more information about his daily life and what they knew about him in the days before his death.

Among his colleagues, Akmal, who had been with the TV station for three years, was known as a happy man who liked to chat. His relatives, by contrast, described him as quiet. (fai/bsr/yus)