[Kabar-indonesia] 1: Tempo Investigation: The Murder of Udin, Ten Years Later

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

3 Tempo Magazine Reports (1 of 2): 

- Udin: 1996-2006 

- Between Facts and Fiction 

- Udin and the Two Heavyweights 
  [The Udin case triggered high-level 
  political battles.]

Tempo Magazine
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Investigation 

Udin: 1996-2006 

IT has been 10 years and as a result this story has become old news. Bernas 
reporter, Fuad Mohamad Syafruddin, was murdered and his killer has been let off 
scot-free. More than an ordinary crime, here is a story of high-level 
politics, a conflict of interest between the National Police Chief and the attorney 
general; between the Military Region Commander and the Bantul Regent, Sri Roso 
Sudarmo. 

Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin 
(February 18, 1964 - August 16, 1996) 

Exactly when people throughout the country were celebrating the 51st 
Independence Day 10 years ago, at the Trirenggo public cemetery, Bantul, a funeral 
procession was taking place. On the gravestone was the name Fuad Muhammad 
Syafruddin. 

Four days earlier, on the night of August 13, an unknown visitor assaulted 
Yogyakarta's Bernas daily journalist Udin, causing him, the tall, heavyset 
reporter 
to die at the Bethesda hospital after a three-day coma. Ten years have 
passed, 
but circumstances surrounding his death remain mysterious. 

Is it true he died as a result of jealousy burning inside Iwik-who was 
accused of murdering him-or did Udin die because of his news reports on Bantul 
Regent Sri Roso Sudarmo's corrupt practices? The tombstone at Trirenggo seems to 
whisper another question: have we really become free as a nation? 

Iwik alias Dwi Sumaji 

This man, now 44, will never forget being accused of murdering Udin. Police 
were then convinced that he got rid of Udin because he was possessed by 
jealousy. His wife, Sunarti, was said to be having an illicit affair with Udin. In 
the court, the charges were not upheld. Witnesses and evidence were 
unsubstantial. Iwik was released after a 58-day detention. 

Ten years later, Iwik has not changed at all. Strongly built with curly hair, 
he remains poor. Now he earns a living as a public transportation van driver 
serving the Pakem-Cangkringan, Yogyakarta route. His wife runs a simple beauty 
parlor and takes dress-making orders 

In the 1999 General Elections, Iwik was invited to become a legislative 
candidate from the Indonesian People's Party. But he did not win the election. 

Marsiyem 

The embittered woman tried to smile. For over a decade, Marsiyem, 39, has 
been dealing with the trauma of the death of her husband, Fuad Mohammad 
Syafruddin or Udin for short, the reporter of the Bernas newspaper, Yogyakarta, who 
received repeated blows from a blunt object, thus causing his death. The sound of 
the beating keeps echoing in her ears, terrorizing her each and every night. 

With Udin gone, Marsiyem had to support her two children all by herself. Her 
life began to change six years ago when she married Khairul, Udin's former 
employee. The couple now have two sons and run a photo studio in Bantul, not far 
from a similar shop owned by Udin, which is now run by Udin's younger brother. 

Is she really happy? "I want to forget it. I don't want this case to be 
reopened," said Marsiyem with tears in her eyes. 
 
-------------------------------------
 
Tempo Magazine
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 
 
Investigation 

Between Facts and Fiction 

There are two major scenarios: love and authoritarianism. The former was 
initiated 
by police, and the latter is the prevailing conviction in society. Both are 
contaminated by fiction. 

THE photo shop house at Samalo village, kilometer 13 on Jalan Parangtritis is 
destroyed, with debris scattered here and there. The late May earthquake left 
only a small signboard dangling gloomily from the iron post by the road, 
bearing the words "Krisna Foto." Here was the place where the late Fuad Mohammad 
Syafruddin, reporter of Bernas daily in Yogyakarta, used to live. 

In that house on August 13, 1996 the man, fondly called Udin, was attacked by 
an unknown assailant. The event happened quickly. First, a man came looking 
for Udin, saying he wanted to repair a motorbike. Udin's wife, Marsiyem, opened 
the door. Not long after she returned to the back of the house to resume her 
ironing, Marsiyem heard a sound... 

Marsiyem immediately ran to the terrace, but it was too late, she found Udin 
lying unconscious with the guest gone. Blood came out profusely from Udin's 
left temple and ear. He died three days later in the Bethesda hospital, 
Yogyakarta. He was buried the next day at the Trirenggo public cemetery, Bantul, 
exactly when the Republic was celebrating its 51st anniversary. 

The news on the Udin attack first appeared in Bernas in the Thursday, August 
15, 1966 edition. Thereafter, the Udin case snowballed into a national issue. 
In fact, in 1997, President Suharto asked Yogya Police Chief Mulyono Sulaiman 
why the case had not been resolved yet. "Hurry it up," remarked Suharto, as 
told by Mulyono to Tempo late in June. 

The media linked the Udin attack to Bantul Regent Sri Roso Sudarmo. Udin 
wrote numerous articles which cornered this Bantul authority figure, among others, 
regarding the misappropriation of the funds for the Disadvantaged Village 
Inpres (presidential instruction) program and the planned development of the 
Parangtritis mega project. 

The article which was thought to annoy Sri Roso the most was the news 
concerning his pledge to donate Rp1 billion to Suharto's Dharmais Foundation if 
re-elected. However, the suspicion was insufficient to bring Sri Roso to court. In 
fact, police led the case in another direction. 

Who was Udin's murderer? Ten years back, this enigma haunted a young police 
detective of the Bantul Police station, Edy Wuryanto, who was appointed to lead 
an investigating team. First, Edy always indicated that police were 
suspicious of Sri Roso. This Bantul ruler and several of his close aides were 
questioned but there had never been any follow-up actions. 

On October 21, 1996, Edy pulled a surprise, arresting Dwi Sumaji alias Iwik, 
the driver of advertising company CV Dymas Advertising. Iwik was accused of 
murder with jealousy being the motive. His wife, Sunarti, was reportedly engaged 
in an "illicit affair" with Udin. During the school days at the MAN 
Sabdodadi, Bantul, from 1977 to 1982, Udin was head of OSIS (inter-school student 
organization) and Sunarti was his secretary. 

It was not clear why police began to look at "another woman" in Udin's life. 
Marsiyem reported that one night in August 1996 Edy came with a vague copy of 
a photo, saying it was the photo of a dangerous killer. But, according to 
Marsiyem, the photograph did not resemble the person she saw on that ill-fated 
night. Later on, she found it was Iwik's picture. 

Five times Edy came and asked Marsiyem to admit that Udin was cheating on his 
wife, and five times the woman, now 39, denied it. She found it hard to 
imagine her husband engaging in an "illicit affair," since Udin spent most of his 
time at home and at his office. 

The police were insistent. To Tempo, Mulyono Sulaiman affirmed that police 
did not make up a story. "Udin was indeed naughty," he said. Iwik's 
investigation continued. In fact, Mulyono himself heard Iwik's confession, including the 
method of murder. "First he was hit in the stomach, and then beaten on the back 
of the head," said Mulyono. 

Iwik, whom Tempo recently met in his house at Panasan hamlet, Triharjo 
village, Sleman, did not deny Mulyono's story. Only the confession was fabricated by 
Edy. Before he (Iwik) met with Mulyono, Edy, who assumed the name of Franky, 
took him to see two bosses. "They said they wanted to install a billboard," 
said Iwik. 

He met with the first boss at the Queen Hotel, Parangtritis. Instead of 
discussing the billboard, Edy forced Iwik to confess to the murder of Udin to the 
boss who introduced himself as a mining businessman. Iwik did not know the 
boss. Only, according to him, the man resembled Diharjo Purboko, a poultry breeder 
who is now the Patalan village head. 

Diharjo admitted this when making a statement in the court. Edy asked him to 
help him. "As a citizen, I'm always ready whenever police ask me for 
assistance," he said as quoted by Jose Manuel Tesoro in his book The Invisible Palace, 
the True Story of a Journalist in Java. 

According to Iwik, he felt threatened and had to follow Edy's scenario. 
Besides, the boss promised money, a house and a job at an offshore drilling 
project. Edy also forced Iwik to repeat the fabricated story to the second boss, Ade 
Subardan, the then Bantul Police Chief. Unfortunately Tempo could not confirm 
this with Ade. 

The probe into the case was discontinued for a while. With the excuse that 
the Yogyakarta Police had been influenced by media opinion that Udin's murder 
was masterminded by Sri Roso, Mulyono asked assistance from the National Police 
HQ. The HQ team under Samuel Ismoko was ordered to investigate Iwik. 

The reports on Iwik's investigation were rejected four times by the 
prosecutor before Iwik was finally handed over to the Yogyakarta High Prosecutor's 
Office as a suspect on April 17, 1997. 

But the scenario did not hold water in the Bantul District Court. Part of the 
claims produced by the prosecutor turned out to be fictitious. Iwik was said 
to have assaulted Udin at around 11pm, but all witnesses testified that during 
that time Iwik was sleeping in his house. 

The prosecutor charged Iwik with assaulting Udin with an instrument which he 
took from his place of employment-a rusty metal pipe filled with cement 
molding. But, according to Marsiyem, the pipe carried by the mysterious guest was 
flashy. Dymas Advertising secretary Ratna Ismariana, was also doubtful. She said 
there was no such pipe. 

Another piece of evidence was a red long-sleeved T-shirt which according to 
the prosecutor was worn by Iwik at the time of the attack on Udin, but this was 
not substantiated either. Again Marsiyem denied. "The man was wearing an 
orange-colored long-sleeved shirt. His hair was covered by a headdress with color 
matching the shirt," she told Tempo. 

The prosecutor also said that on the jacket and on the murder weapon dry 
blood was found, which after DNA analysis was proved to belong to Udin. But the 
jacket as material evidence was also rejected by the court. Other evidence, such 
as a pair of jeans, a wristwatch, a belt and a black Bata pair of shoes, were 
not convincing either. 

The evidence of a Vespa with license plate AD-6739-KE belonging to Udin was 
not of much use. Udin's neighbor, Ayik Fatonah, who saw from a distance when 
Udin met the mysterious guest, said that from its sound she was sure that the 
motorcycle being used by Udin's assailant was a Yamaha. 

Probably that was the reason when on November 3, 1997 after seven hours of a 
court hearing, the prosecutor took the reverse action-asking that Iwik be 
acquitted. The prosecution team with members Amrin Naim, Ahmad Yuwono, Hartako and 
Yursin Nicoriawan, stated they could only prove that Udin was murdered but 
failed to prove that the murderer was Iwik. 

Eventually on November 27, 1997 the Bantul District Court judicial panel 
chaired by Endang Sri Murwati acquitted Iwik ."First, Endang was doubtful. I told 
her not to be doubtful. You're not always in Bantul," said Sahlan reminiscing 
the moments prior to the not-guilty verdict. Sahlan was not a team member but 
he had often been consulted. 

Following Iwik's acquittal, suspicion toward Sri Roso was increasing. The 
love scenario was presumed to be purposely designed to get Sri Roso off the hook. 
Iwik did express such suspicion in court. "True, Edy didn't mention the name 
Sri Roso. But he said that if I confessed, I would get a present from the 
Regent," said Iwik. 

As a matter of fact, police had not been idle. At least, according to 
Mulyono, for months they directed the probe toward Sri Roso. Mulyono reported that 
the police also kept an eye on Sri Roso's close aides. For example, the police 
tailed a subdistrict chief. Everybody connected with the subdistrict chief was 
followed. This however proved fruitless. 

Admittedly, so far there had been no material evidence against Sri Roso. 
However, the police's decision to cross off his name from the "target" list was 
viewed as hasty. Numerous stories made people suspicious of Sri Roso's 
involvement in the affair. 

Sahlan Said, the judge of the Bantul court, for example, mentioned a muspida 
(local authority council) called by Sri Roso some time prior to the attack on 
Udin. According to Sahlan, at the forum Sri Roso affirmed that Udin should 
have been sued by them in August 1996. "At that time a representative from the 
prosecution office was not present. But afterward he was fetched," he said. 

The very presence of Sri Roso's nephew, Rahayu Sri Kuncoro alias Kuncung, at 
the scene of the crime, also aroused suspicion. Kuncung and his friends took 
Udin to the Bethesda hospital in a jeep. He told police he had just watched a 
volleyball match. 

Oddly enough, according to him it took less than a minute to dash from the 
volleyball field to Udin's house, whereas it was quite a considerable distance. 
Kuncung also claimed he did not come across anybody near Udin's house that 
night, but Bambang and his wife claimed they came across Kuncung some 200 meters 
from the scene of the crime. At that moment, according to them, nothing had 
happened. 

Not to mention Udin's "missing" notebook. Some time after the burial, 
accompanied by Udin's elder brother, Edy's subordinate came to Krisna Foto in search 
of evidence. They took notes and a notebook belonging to Udin. A friend of 
Udin, who claimed to have read it, told Tempo the notes contained, among others, 
Sri Roso's proposal to the Dharmais Foundation and the Parangtritis mega 
project. 

Afterward Edy said the notes were missing. But, surprisingly, when speaking 
to Tempo, Mulyono said he kept the notes. But he denied the contents were 
linked to Sri Roso. "It's a reporter's notes. It's no use for investigation," he 
said. 

According to him, when the notes became an issue, he asked Edy for them 
"during the transfer of post, I handed it over to the next Regional Police Chief 
(the late Bani Siswono). 'This is the thing which created a furor,' I said." 
However, Logan Siagian, who assumed the post of Yogyakarta Regional Police Chief 
for about six months in 2000, claimed he did not get the notes from his 
predecessor. 

Edy had to bear the brunt of the blame. He was court-martialed for losing the 
notes. "Last I heard of him was that he was found guilty and was locked up 
several months," said Logan. Which one is right? Unfortunately Tempo was unable 
to meet with Edy. His family in Bantul said Edy moved to Jakarta and had not 
returned home for four months. 

In addition, there is a story about Sri Roso's hiring a professional killer 
to "eliminate" Udin spread in Yogyakarta. For instance, Marsiyem in November 
1996 received an anonymous letter from somebody with the initials GM claiming to 
be Udin's killer. In the handwritten letter sent via the post, GM said he was 
hired by an official government agency to finish off Udin. This anonymous 
letter led to Sri Roso's involvement. 

Earlier, a thug claimed Sri Roso sought to recruit him for the dirty job. But 
because the price was not right, the thug refused. Logan, whom Tempo asked 
regarding the matter, claimed he did hear of such a story. Only, he said, it was 
difficult for police to trace a story with no evidence. "Our law will be 
chaotic if all rumors are considered true," he said. 

Today the former Bantul Regent lives peacefully in his large house on Jalan 
Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. Early in July, Tempo managed to contact him on the phone 
but he refused to comment. "Oh come on, I've always been asked the question 
for 10 years," he said. "If the thug knows the story about Udin's murder, just 
report it to the police." 

Ten years have passed, but the mystery of Udin's murder has not been 
uncovered. And it will be increasingly difficult, since police stick to their original 
opinion. Re-investigation carried out by Mulyono's successors, from Bani 
Siswono, to Logan Siagian, up to Saleh Saaf, always ended with the same 
conclusion. "For the police, the Udin case is already final. Our conclusion, the 
perpetrator was Iwik," said Logan. 

Nonetheless, was Iwik not acquitted by the court? "Ask the prosecutor why 
they demanded an acquittal," said Mulyono. 

Considering that all the evidence aggravating Iwik in court was declared 
insubstantial in court, the prosecutor's acquittal demand makes sense. However, 
when trying to look into Mulyono's question, Tempo found something else. 
Apparently there was a "battle" involving high-ranking officials behind the matter: 
the not-guilty verdict was an order from Jakarta (see Udin and the Two 
Heavyweights). 

The uncovered political game behind the Udin case did not necessarily pave 
the way towards finding the murderer. But this opened another dark page. It 
turned out that Udin was not only accused of being "naughty," his case became a 
political object of the elite. 

The Criminal Code, article 339, states that cases involving premeditated 
murder will expire in 12 years. It could last 18 years if categorized as "dead 
treason"-a nearly perfect murder that makes it difficult to prosecute the suspect 
in court. This means that in another eight years, the tragedy of Fuad 
Mohammad Syafruddin will remain a dark chapter in the history of the national press 
and the police. 

Other Irregularities 

SEVERAL facts are mixed with lies in the investigation of the Udin case. 
Several anomalies are as follows: 

* About two hours prior to being attacked in his house, Udin was visited by 
Hatta  Sunanto and Suwandi at the Bernas daily office. Hatta was a member of 
the Bantul Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) but to the receptionist he 
claimed to be named Sukrisno-the name of his elder brother who was head of 
Wirokerten government affairs, Bantul. What they discussed was not known, but as 
written by Jose Manuel Tesoro in his book The Invisible Palace, the True Story 
of a Journalist in Java, Udin looked restless afterward. 

* Edy Wuryanto, Bantul Police Intel, borrowed Udin's blood sample placed in 
plastic from Udin's father, Wagiman Jenggot. The blood was never returned. 
Afterward Edy claimed he 'set the blood to sail' in the sea in order to get 
"guidance." But for the Kijang Putih (white deer) Team, an investigating team formed 
by Heru Prasetya, Bernas editor, and several Yogyakarta reporters, Edy's 
behavior was very strange. According to them, Edy had never done such a thing 
before. It was assumed that the blood was used to smear Iwik's jacket and shirt. 
This was denied by Mulyono Sulaiman, former Yogyakarta Police Chief. He said it 
was impossible to use Udin's blood being borrowed by Edy because it had been 
contaminated. But, according to a forensic expert whom Tempo contacted, as 
long as the blood had not decomposed yet-either because of heat or 
microbiology-fresh or dry blood can be used for forensic testing. 
* Edy claimed he found Sunarti's photo in Udin's wallet. Later on, it was 
proved that he reproduced the photo from the Sunarti-Iwik wedding photo borrowed 
from the Bantul Religious Affairs Office 

* Rahayu Sri Kuncoro alias Kuncung, Sri Roso's nephew, was not a policeman 
but he was actively engaged in helping Edy persuade Tri Sumarni, Udin's neighbor 
and playmate, to admit to being an illicit partner of Udin. Twice he 
persuaded the girl and promised her money. Sumarni refused and then sought protection 
from the Yogya Legal Aid Office. 

* Sri Roso's family spread the gossip that Udin was fond of having illicit 
affairs. The issue appeared in, among others, the Javanese-language magazine 
Jayabaya. The magazine reported that Udin was fond of women, as was his father 
Wagiman Jenggot. Marsiyem was also accused of cheating with her neighbor 
Sujarah. The Kijang Putih Team visited Thojib Djumadi, the reporter, for information. 
According to Thojib, he got the stories from Kuncung and his father R. 
Gunawan, member of the Bantul DPRD, Sri Roso's elder brother. 

* According to the police, Bantul District Court parking attendant Supriyadi 
claimed he saw Udin riding on his motorbike with a short-haired woman on the 
afternoon of August 12, 1996. The woman was suspected to be Sunarti. It turned 
out that the person Udin was carrying was Sumadiyono, a Yogya Post reporter. 
As for Sunarti, she was making up a bride somewhere else. Later, Supriyadi 
refused to testify. 

* The prosecuting attorney in the Udin case, Amrin Naim, said that once 
police displayed several helmeted men behind the one-way glass to Marsiyem at the 
Yogyakarta Police station, and that Marsiyem pointed at Iwik as resembling the 
perpetrator. Whereas, according to the Kijang Putih Team, when Marsiyem was 
asked by police to identify several men on November 25, 1996, they were wearing 
headdress. At that time she said nobody resembled the perpetrator.

Sources: The Udin Case Book: Underground Covering Report (Heru Prasetya et 
al), D&R Magazine, facts in the court hearings, and Tempo interviews. 
 
---------------------------------------

Tempo Magazine
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Investigation 

Udin and the Two Heavyweights 

The Udin case triggered high-level political battles. 

MULYONO Sulaeman will never forget his conversation with Subagyo H.S. 10 
years ago. He was the Yogyakarta Police Chief handling the case of Udin's death. 
Subagyo H.S. was Commander of the Diponegoro Military Region. "Pak Mulyono, 
don't be afraid. I'm behind you," said Subagyo as quoted by Mulyono. 

Subagyo was serious in his promise. He wanted the police not to worry if 
their investigation led to the incrimination of Sri Roso Sudarmo, the Bantul 
Regent who was still active as a TNI (Indonesian Military) colonel. Higher in rank 
than Sri Roso, Subagyo gave his backing to the police so as not to be 
deterred. "Probe it. If it's true he is behind Udin's murder, don't hesitate," said 
Mulyono quoting Subagyo's pledge. 

According to Subagyo, the event was not exactly like that. He claimed he had 
never specifically talked about the Udin case with Mulyono. As classmates in 
the Army Staff & Command College (Seskoad), they would talk intimately about 
anything. "And in the case of Udin, at that time I supported Pak Mulyono's 
effort to perform the investigation in accordance with the procedures," said 
Subagyo last week. 

The Diponegoro commander intervened. Mulyono said the story started in 1996, 
the last year of Sri Roso's tenure as Bantul Regent. As the Military Region 
Commander, Subagyo asked Sri Roso if he was still interested in becoming the 
regent for the next term. Sri Roso told Subagyo he was no longer interested. 

The New Order political customs did mandate the central government's approval 
for anybody aspiring to become a regional government head. Subagyo, as the 
regional military "authority," had the power to coordinate military 
"politicians" in his jurisdiction. Therefore, he looked for the right person to replace 
Sri Roso. 

In Bantul, what happened was something Subagyo did not expect. Sri Roso, who 
at first refused to continue being regent, later approached Noto Suwito to 
retain his position. To President Suharto's younger brother, Sri Roso pledged Rp1 
billion for the Dharmais Foundation if his post as regent was retained. 
Dharmais was one of the "charitable" institutions managed by Suharto. 

"Pak Bagyo felt betrayed, after all, Bantul was his turf," said Mulyono 
Sulaeman. He became angry because Sri Roso seemed to have belittled his position as 
Military Region Commander. 

To Tempo, Subagyo said he had never contacted Sri Roso in connection with his 
being regent for the next term. He did admit that the Diponegoro Military 
Region (Kodam) IV had another candidate to replace Sri Roso. "Sri Roso's 
performance was considered mediocre, so Kodam proposed to the Armed Forces HQ that he 
be replaced," he said. 

Subagyo did admit that Noto Suwito met with him once to advise him to support 
Sri Roso. "But Kodam insisted on its original stance, that is, nominating 
somebody else," he said. 

It turned out that Sri Roso's reassignment to the second term happened 
smoothly. But he did not finish the tenure. Sri Roso was later hauled to the court 
on charges of bribing the Dharmais Foundation. Unfortunately Sri Roso refused 
to comment. He said an interview with the media was not useful any more. "No 
use. If you think it's useful for you or anybody else, go ahead. But for me 
personally, there's no use. So I'm not going to give any comments whatsoever," he 
said. 

Subagyo's support caused Mulyono to keep his distance from Sri Roso. Mulyono 
claimed that since becoming the Yogyakarta Police Chief in September 1996, a 
month following Udin's death, he allowed all possibilities in the development 
of the Udin case-including the possible lead to Sri Roso's involvement. "He was 
my senior in the Seskoad class. He once tried to contact me, [but] I ignored 
him," said Mulyono. 

Even though he got the chance to investigate Sri Roso, for reasons unknown 
the police probe led to Dwi Sumaji alias Iwik as the prime suspect. Mulyono was 
convinced that Iwik was the culprit because of jealousy over Udin's attempt to 
woo his wife. Compelling evidence and Marsiyem's confession, he said, led to 
the driver of the advertising company in Yogyakarta. Mulyono rejected the 
notion of police fabrication with intent to cover the tracks of the real 
perpetrator. "Had there been a fabrication, what did I ask the police detectives from 
Jakarta to conduct an investigation without involving the Yogyakarta Police 
for?" he said to Tempo. 

The Jakarta Police detectives he was referring to were a team from National 
Police HQ. The team members included, among others, Samuel Ismoko, the 
important figure currently under detention in the case of the BNI fraud. According to 
Mulyono, the team carried out a probe from scratch without using the clues 
from the local police. "The result is just the same," he said. 

The dossier was repeatedly rejected by the prosecution office. And when it 
was later accepted, the prosecutor took surprising action. In the court hearing, 
the prosecutor withdrew the charges against Iwik, as the evidence and 
testimony presented did not hold up. It was also discovered in the Bantul District 
Court that some facts which the prosecuting attorney produced were not true. On 
November 3, 1997, Iwik was acquitted. Mulyono Sulaeman said the political 
nuances of the case were too strong. 

A source divulged that the prosecutor's action was inseparable from the 
reaction of the then Attorney General Singgih (now deceased) toward National Police 
Chief Dibyo Widodo's action. As it was, on one occasion President Suharto 
asked the Police Chief to report the Udin case at the Bina Graha presidential 
office. Dibyo reported precisely what the Yogya Police had done with Iwik as the 
suspect. He also reported that the facts presented were turned down by the 
court. 

Hearing the report, Suharto immediately instructed Attorney General Singgih 
to take follow-up action. "The attorney general was not in favor," said the 
source. As a result, the life sentence demand already planned by the Bantul 
prosecuting officer was instantly overturned by the attorney general. "The attorney 
general made a new demand, that is, acquittal from charges," said the source. 

This story was confirmed by Sahlan Said, former judge of the Bantul District 
Court. Sahlan was not the judge who sat at Udin's trial but he was consulted 
many times by the head of the panel of judges, Endang Sri Murwati. Sahlan 
claimed he was visited by prosecuting attorney Amrin Naim a few years after the 
settlement of the Udin case. To Sahlan, Amrin claimed he had prepared two 
decisions, the punishment verdict and the acquittal verdict. "That which punishes is 
the dossier prepared by Amrin himself, while that which acquits is the order 
from Jakarta," he said. In short, said Sahlan, the one from Yogya sought to 
punish, while the ruling from Jakarta was acquittal. 

Amrin, who was contacted by Tempo, said the two demands were prepared 
following a meeting between the Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes, the Yogya 
High Prosecutor's Office, and himself as the prosecuting attorney. Amrin, now 
retired, forgot the date of the meeting. "In the meeting, I pointed out that 
the court hearings led to the fact that Iwik was not proven as the murderer of 
Udin," he said to Tempo. 

He said the prosecuting attorney must not produce an acquittal demand, so at 
the end of the meeting he was asked to prepare two demands. "Which one he 
would read out in the court would depend on the attorney general's instruction," 
he said. Finally the verdict came down, acquitting Iwik from the charges. 
According to Amrin, when important witnesses retracted their statements in the 
court, he had no "weapon" to press for guilty verdict. 

Sahlan also believed that Iwik was not guilty. He was also of the view that 
the Udin case was loaded with fabrications. He had studied all the 
investigation dossiers and once attended the expose of the case. According to him, there 
had been no strong evidence to put Iwik in jail. "Iwik's alibi was very strong. 
Many witnesses supported him. Therefore, it was difficult to penalize Iwik," 
he said. 

In his opinion, the police should have looked into the political motive 
behind Udin's murder. This could be done based on Udin's writings which were 
critical of Sri Roso. "But the police were reluctant. I think it was because of the 
local authority council (Muspida) consisting of the regent, police, prosecutor 
and the court," he said. 
 
-End 1 of 2-
 
-----------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------