The Yogyakarta Police have been handed a new avenue of investigation in the murder of journalist Fuad Muhammad 'Udin' Syafruddin, whose case has remained unsolved for 17 years, an executive with the Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) has said.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, ORI member Budi Santoso of the report completion division said the Jakarta II High Military Court had sent a letter to the Yogyakarta Police inviting them to fetch a copy of the dossier of then Bantul regent Sri Roso Sudarmo and other related documents.

'This can be used as ammunition to reveal the facts about Udin's murder,' Budi said.

Udin was beaten by an unidentified person(s) at his house in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Aug. 13, 1996, and died at Yogyakarta Bethesda Hospital three days later without ever regaining consciousness.

As a journalist, Udin was known for his reports on misappropriations of authority that were allegedly committed by Sri Roso.

Udin wrote a report about Sri Roso allegedly bribing the Dharmais Foundation (owned by then president Soeharto) for his reelection as Bantul regent.

Sri Roso, who was a colonel with the Indonesian Army, was tried in a military court.

'The dossier [on Sri Roso's bribery case] can be a means of digging deeper into the murder of Udin from the reporting side,' Budi said.

Budi added he received the information regarding the Jakarta II High Military Court's letter on
Sri Roso's dossier from the Yogyakarta Police.

The letter, he said, was dated June 14 and welcomed the Yogyakarta Police to a copy of the dossier.

The letter was a follow up to the ORI's earlier visit to the Yogyakarta Police in April. During the visit, according to Budi, the ORI was informed that one of the toughest challenges to reveal Udin's murderer(s) was accessing Sri Roso's dossier.

In response to this, the ORI then sent a letter to the Jakarta II High Military Court asking it to allow the Yogyakarta Police to access the dossier.

The police still insist that a love affair was behind Udin's murder. They arrested Dwi Sumadji, alias Iwik, as the chief suspect in the murder, which they thought was related to a love affair with Udin's wife, but the court acquitted Dwi due to a lack of evidence.

The police never continued the case and argued they did not have any new evidence to do so.

However, as the Yogyakarta Police now have access to Sri Roso's dossier, Budi said, 'the ball to finish the murder case is now in the Yogyakarta Police's court.'

Responding to the development, Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti said her side would follow up the letter from the high military court.

'But we have yet to decide when to send an envoy to Jakarta to get the documents,' Anny said.

Timeline of Udin case

Aug. 13, 1996
Fuad Mohammad Syafruddin (Udin) is attacked by unidentified person(s) at his house in Yogyakarta. He dies three days later at Bethesda Hospital and is buried in Trirenggo, Bantul.

Aug. 15, 1996
Bernas runs the first article on the attack of Udin.

Oct. 21, 1996
Bantul Police arrest Dwi Sumaji, alias Iwik, on suspicion of killing Udin in a jealous rage.

Nov. 3, 1997
Prosecutors at the Bantul District Court demand Iwik's release due to lack of evidence.

Nov. 27, 1997
The panel of judges at Bantul District Court declare Iwik innocent.

May 27, 2005
Edy Wuryanto, a senior police officer, is sentenced to 20 months in prison for destroying evidence in the murder case. Edy, as an investigator in the case, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice by destroying a notepad that contained evidence deemed relevant.

Popular

Recentralization concerns in fiscal, education heighten

Twenty years on, BRICS faces a defining choice

Indonesia calls for more representative UN amid changing world order