TTU Parliament Speaker Questioned by Police for Six Hours Over Doctor Icha's Death

The Speaker of the Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) Regional House of Representatives, Kristoforus Efi, complied with a summons from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Police investigators on Thursday (16/7) to provide testimony regarding the alleged intimidation case involving four reported individuals. The examination took place at Sub-directorate 3 of the General Criminal Investigation Directorate and lasted for six hours, from 11.00 to 17.00 Central Indonesia Time. Director of General Criminal Investigation for the NTT Police, Senior Commissioner Sigit Haryono, stated that the TTU Parliament Speaker was summoned to give a statement as a witness in the investigation into the alleged intimidation experienced by the late Doctor Icha before she took her own life. “It is true, today the TTU Parliament Speaker was summoned to provide a statement as a witness in the alleged intimidation case against Doctor Icha,” Sigit confirmed when contacted by CNNIndonesia.com on Thursday (16/7). He explained that during the questioning, the Speaker was asked about the extent of his knowledge regarding the alleged intimidation suffered by Doctor Icha, based on a report from the family. “He was asked about the extent of the Speaker’s knowledge of the incident reported by the complainant, namely the alleged threats or intimidation,” he said. Sigit revealed that the examination uncovered that the TTU Parliament Speaker had previously visited the late Doctor Icha while she was receiving treatment at Leona Kefamenanu Hospital. “It turns out the Speaker has a video from when he visited Doctor Icha at Leona Kefa Hospital,” Sigit stated. According to the video recording in the Speaker’s possession, Doctor Icha had complained about intimidation by three members of the TTU Parliament. During the examination, the Speaker was also asked about Doctor Icha’s condition at the time of his visit, and he provided a full account to Sub-directorate 3 investigators. The joint investigation team has now examined 37 witnesses in the alleged intimidation case. These witnesses include healthcare workers at Kefamenanu Regional Hospital and Leona Hospital, patients who were in the emergency room at Leona Hospital at the time of the alleged incident, Doctor Icha’s family, the four reported individuals, and the TTU Parliament Speaker. It was previously reported that Doctor Eliza Princita Utami Pakaenoni, commonly known as Dr. Icha, was found dead by suicide at her home in the Baumata RSS Housing Complex, Baumata Barat Village, Taebenu District, Kupang Regency, on Friday (26/6) afternoon. Dr. Icha allegedly took her own life after suffering severe depression and psychological distress following intimidation by three TTU Parliament members on 13 June while she was treating a snakebite patient in the Emergency Unit of Leona Kefamenanu Hospital. The three parliamentarians are Therezius Lazakar (Golkar Party), Robert Tubani (PKB), and Veronika Lake (PDIP). The snakebite victim, whose life was successfully saved, is reportedly a relative of one of the parliamentarians, Therezius Lazakar, who participated in the intimidation of Dr. Icha. Dr. Icha’s funeral took place on Monday (29/6) and was attended by thousands of mourners. The alleged intimidation case was reported by the family to the NTT Police on 3 July. In the report, the family also named a civil servant veterinarian working at the TTU Livestock Service, Maria Mathildis Sau, bringing the total number of reported individuals to four.