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View all search resultsPolice investigate sudden death of Sagihe deputy regent
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T
he police are looking into the death of a North Sulawesi politician who opposed a gold mining project there, after environmental groups and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) called for an investigation.
Helmud Hontong, 58, the deputy regent of the remote Sangihe Islands was pronounced dead on arrival at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on Wednesday.
He had appeared to be in good health before boarding a Lion Air flight in Bali but complained of feeling dizzy about 20 minutes after take-off, his aide, Harmen Kontu, who was sitting beside him at the time, told Reuters.
Helmud “lost consciousness and blood flowed from his mouth and nose” soon afterward, Kontu said.
The police have set up a team to investigate the death, Jules Abraham Abast, a spokesman for the North Sulawesi Police, said on Monday.
The initial results of an autopsy did not show any indication of poisoning, the police noted in a forensic report, adding that the suspected cause of death was chronic illness.
No further details were provided but police said forensic samples had been sent for further testing.
