David’s Singapore trial fair and transparent: Foreign Ministry

The Indonesian government will not interfere with the verdict of the Singaporean coroner’s court, which is currently hearing the case of an Indonesian student who died at Nanyang Technological University in March, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. 

“We believe the trial was carried out fairly and with transparency,” ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said. “Indonesians, including David’s close friends, testified at the court.”

The family of the late David Wijaya - who was studying at Nanyan under an ASEAN scholarship - had earlier asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure the Singapore court conduct a fair investigation into the case.

The court is expected to reach its verdict on July 29.

Faizasyah said the ministry had followed the proceedings and acknowledged David’s family had been given the right to put forward their witnesses and be represented by professional lawyers.

“We hope the verdict will be based on facts that emerged during the proceedings,” he said. 

There are still many unanswered questions surrounding David’s death. He was initially alleged to have committed suicide, but his family believes he was murdered.