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n the end, it turned out that the body was their son Simon. The confusion over the identity of a body of a deceased Indonesian migrant worker returned to his family in Medan, North Sumatra, was solved on Wednesday, when the parents concluded that the body was, in fact, their son.

Part of the reason for the confusion was that Simon Petrus Sitepu, who was killed in an accident while working in Kedah, Malaysia, had gone by the name of Roni in Malaysia.

A councilor from North Sumatra on the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), Parlindungan Purba, announced the news after meeting an official at the Malaysian Consulate in Medan on Wednesday.

The parents of the deceased worker had filed a protest to the Malaysian Consulate on Tuesday claiming that the body they had received was not their son.

Parlindungan said that the body, which was sent from Malaysia to the family of Benar Sitepu, was in fact their son, Simon Petrus Sitepu. However, in the documents, he added, Simon’s name had been stated as Roni.

“Simon Petrus Sitepu had changed his name to Roni because his working contract as a legal migrant worker in Malaysia had expired. To continue working in Malaysia, Simon joined the reregistration program,” Parlindungan told The Jakarta Post at the Malaysian Consulate in Medan on Wednesday.

He added that an official at the Indonesian Consulate in Penang, Malaysia, had also confirmed the change of name from Simon Petrus Sitepu to Roni. According to him, Roni had been an illegal migrant worker when he was killed by a bulldozer in Kedah on Oct. 14.

“Simon was sent to work in Malaysia as a legal migrant worker by a Migrant Worker Placement Firm (PJTKI) in Batam. His working contract was two-and-a-half years, but after his working contract expired, he became an illegal migrant worker under the name of Roni,” Parlindungan said.

Based on the death certificate issued by the Indonesian deputy consul in Penang, Iwan Datulangi said that Roni hailed from Laut Mordap, Kota Candi, Southeast Aceh regency in Aceh, while Simon’s real address was Lau Melgap, Mardinding district, Karo regency in North Sumatra.

Parlindungan said the police were currently handling the case. They took a blood sample from the body that showed it was Simon.

Simon’s aunt, Ita Sembiring, said that the family had acknowledged that the body returned by the Malaysian government was the son of Benar and Nurlela Sitepu — Simon’s parents.

Ita said that the family had identified the body as Simon at the Pirngadi Hospital in Medan on Wednesday.

The family had examined the body previously, but declared that the body was not their son, citing physical differences, including that the body did not bear one of their son’s birthmarks.

After carefully looking over the body on Wednesday, added Ita, both of Simon’s parents had concluded that it was Simon’s.

“We never knew Simon had changed his name to Roni. Let it be, the important thing is that his parents have acknowledged their son,” Ita said, adding that Simon’s body would be brought to his hometown in Karo regency on Wednesday afternoon for burial.