Anonymous_X: The Case of David Widjaja: In which the alleged stabber (or the real victim, as some might choose to believe) suffered 36 injuries

I remove 'curious' from the title. It's no longer a curious case. At least for me.

I will be tempted to use 'The Curiously Dragging Case of David Widjaja" for the next post of mine. If I can bear reading more about it.

What I can't stand is how the mystery murder involving a student and his teacher is now having the Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla showing publicly his support. He had given the case special attention, it is said. Yuck.

As if there are not enough problems to be handled by Indonesian government. Leave the criminal matters to police, why can't you? Unless of course Jusuf Kalla has nurtured a dream to be a detective. Strange, that is never mentioned in his Wikipedia article.

David Hartanto Widjaja, a final-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student, who died after falling four storeys on campus, after allegedly stabbing his professor, sustained 36 injuries in all, a Coroner's court was told on Wednesday.

The injuries included abrasions, cuts and lacerations on his hands, head, fingers, and legs, said Ms Marian Wang, a Registrar of Forensic Medicine with the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

There were also cut wounds on his wrists, which were 'consistent with being inflicted by a sharp-edge object such as a knife'.

Ms Wang said the other injuries were consistent with that of a fall from height.

The 21-year-old Indonesian, who was in his final year electrical and electronic engineering course, also suffered internal injuries which included fractures and internal bleeding, as a result of the fall.

These are the findings from an autopsy carried out on March 3, a day after Widjaja died. The cause of death is listed as multiple injuries.

Widjaja fell to this death moments after he allegedly stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, who was supervising his final-year project at the time.

Present at the inquiry before State Coroner Victor Yeo were Widjaja's parents, his elder brother and uncle who have flown in from Jakarta, as well as representatives from NTU, officials from the Indonesian Embassy here and several journalists from the Indonesian media.

Convinced that he didn't kill himself, the Widjaja's family has hired veteran criminal lawyer Shashi Nathan to look after their interests. Mr Nathan, who heads Harry Elias Partnership's crime practice department, is holding a watching brief at the coroner's inquiry.

Questioning the injuries, Mr Nathan asked the pathologist about a small bruise found on Widjaja's neck, saying if this could have been the result of a struggle.

Ms Wang said 'it was possible but unlikely', in view of Widjaja's other injuries.

The events leading up to his death remained a mystery to his family and friends as the young man, an Asean scholar, gave no inkling that anything was wrong when they spoke to him days before the incident.

His family members were also unable to meet Prof Chan to hear his side of the story, despite making a trip to his condominium home in Jurong East in April.

The inquiry continues.

From Straits Times, "Widjaja had 36 injuries".

A group concerned about the recent death of an Indonesian student in Singapore staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

The group requested an audience with embassy officials to submit a petition that called for a thorough investigation into the death. It was their second attempt to present the petition, the first having been rejected on May 5.

“The audience is important since the investigation of David’s case will have an impact on Indonesian students in Singapore,” a member of the advocacy group, David Wuisang, said in front of the embassy.

Group coordinator Audy Wuisang said that since the death of David Hartanto Widjaja, Indonesian students at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had felt intimidated, although he did not give further details.

“That’s why it’s difficult to get witnesses to speak about this issue at the coroner’s court,” Audy said, adding that David’s fellow NTU students from Indonesia would be key witnesses in determining the circumstances leading up to David’s death.

Audy also said that David’s Indonesian friends at NTU were reluctant to testify because they feared the university might revoke their scholarships.

“We demand that [Indonesian] students and citizens in Singapore be given protection,” he said. “[What’s the use of] getting a scholarship when there is no guarantee of safety.”

The petition also demanded that media reports with headlines like “Student Stabbed Prof” be stopped, as the case was still under investigation. News about David’s death being a suicide, the protesters said, should be halted for the same reason.

The main point of the petition was the demand for a thorough and transparent investigation into David’s death. It demanded that the coroner’s inquiry on May 20-26 in Singapore remain objective when establishing the cause and circumstances surrounding David’s death.

During the rally, involving about 80 people, protesters also presented a bag of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and cassava to the embassy to, as Audy put it, symbolize the friendship and ethnic relations between Indonesia and Singapore. “So that the case won’t strain relations between the two countries,” he said.

Audy said that from the Indonesian government’s side, it was Vice President Jusuf Kalla who had given the case special attention. Kalla had met David’s family to inquire about what they thought had happened.

“[The Vice President] has seen David’s mother, father and brother,” Audy said. “He also promised to speak to the government of Singapore.”

From Jakarta Globe, "Calls for Unbiased Probe Into Student’s ‘Suicide’".

Also from other news source:

The injuries sustained by Nanyang Technological University student David Widjaja, who apparently fell to his death after stabbing his supervisor in March, were consistent with injuries caused by fall from height.

This was the testimony of the first witness called to the stand in the coroner's inquiry.

According to pathologist Dr Marian Wang from the Health Sciences Authority who conducted the autopsy, David had 36 injuries in all.

They included abrasions, cuts and bruises on his hands, arms, legs and face. But she said these were consistent with injuries that resulted from a fall from height.

Dr Wang said there were also cuts on David's wrists, inflicted by "a sharp-edged object such as a knife". And despite a bruise on his neck, she said there was no indication that David was strangled.

Her testimony was endorsed by Associate Professor Gilbert Lau, a senior consultant forensic pathologist, who was present during the autopsy.

He said it was very unlikely that the bruise on the neck was caused by a blunt object or a "karate chop" as suggested by the Widjaja family lawyer, as there would be other injuries inflicted to the voice box or throat.

The Widjaja family lawyer, Shashi Nathan said while he accepted the fact that David died of multiple injuries, he asked if it was possible that some of the injuries were the result of a struggle between David and his project work supervisor, Professor Chan Kap Luk.

Dr Wang said while it was possible that some of the injuries could be the result of a struggle, she said it's "unlikely" taking into account the other injuries.

David's family had disputed the autopsy report.

William Widjaja, David Widjaja's brother, said: "What the pathologist explained to us at the moment is that the injuries were sustained from a fall from a height.

"I don't think that makes sense, because if someone falls from a height, it won't cause only a bruising. The neck will be broken. Of course we want to find the truth."

Another witness who was called to the stand was David's close friend, Hardian Setiawan Winata.

He told the court that David spent more time on online games in his second and third year of studies. Hardian also said that David did not seem too worried that his scholarship would be revoked if his grades did not match up.

Representatives from NTU and officials from the Indonesian Embassy were also in court. The Indonesian media was also present.

David Widjaja allegedly stabbed Professor Chan in early March before jumping four storeys to his death.

The inquiry will last for five days, but a second hearing will be fixed if this is not enough. Including those who gave their testimonies on Wednesday, a total of 28 witnesses will be called to take the stand.

The inquiry continues tomorrow with Professor Chan taking the stand.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Coroner's inquiry into death of Indonesian student begins".

And this one (published on 21/05/09):

WHAT exactly transpired in Associate Professor Chan Kup Luk’s office before David Hartonto Widjaja fell to his death?

On the opening day of the eagerly-awaited coroner’s inquiry into his death, the Widjaja family’s lawyer, Mr Shashi Nathan, sought to postulate the possible scenarios by zooming in on some of the 36 abrasions, lacerations and bruises observed on David during autopsy: A faint bruise on the neck and 19 cuts on his upper limbs.

Forensic pathologist Marian Wang told the Coroner’s Court yesterday that the cause of death was “multiple injuries” as a result of the final-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student falling from four storeys on campus after allegedly stabbing his professor on March 2.

The circumstances surrounding the 21-year-old Asean scholar’s fatal fall have been shrouded in mystery, leading to speculative accounts spreading online and among NTU students.

David’s parents and elder brother William have returned to Singapore several times since his death to seek answers from the authorities.

To Dr Wang’s opinion that the 19 cuts on David’s upper limbs — 18 superficial and one deep on his right wrist — were likely sustained during a struggle and caused “by a sharp-edged object such as a knife”,Mr Shashi, in a lengthy cross-examination, questioned if the wounds could be a result of someone trying to fend off an assault.

And as opposed to Dr Wang’s findings that the faint 7cm by 6cm bruise on David’s neck was likely caused by falling from height, could the bruise have been caused by a “karate chop” or a punch, asked the lawyer.

Both Dr Wang, and senior consultant forensic pathologist Gilbert Lau, told a packed courtroom — comprising Indonesian journalists and embassy officials, NTU representatives and the public — the criminal lawyer’s suggestions were “very, very unlikely”.

It would be “difficult” to classify the superficial cuts on David’s arms, forearms, hands and fingers as defensive injuries, said Dr Lau, explaining that much deeper cuts or fatal wounds would usually be seen in such injuries. A “karate chop” or punch would have caused “much more severe” injuries, said Dr Lau, and not the vague bruises on David’s neck.

“I was not informed by police that a karate master or any martial arts master was involved,” he quipped.

All injuries had to be considered in totality during an autopsy finding, both pathologists stressed.

Defending her findings – listing the external and internal injuries to be likely sustained after a fall from height – after being asked repeatedly to consider alternatives, Dr Wang said: “We see a lot of falls from height at the Health Sciences Authority. About 300 a year.”

Mr Setiawan Winata, an Indonesian in the same electrical and electronic engineering course as David, told the court the latter’s grades began slipping since their second year of studies and he even received a warning regarding his scholarship last August.

An avid gamer, David got hooked on an online game called Destiny Online from last December and started spending over 10 hours everyday on it, Mr Winata said. It affected his studies and progress on his final-year project – which his supervisor, Assoc Prof Chan, regularly pressed for updates on.

David did not seem worried about losing his scholarship and did not say he disliked or was going to do anything to Assoc Prof Chan, Mr Winata added.

After the inquest, Assoc Prof Chan, 45, who was originally scheduled to take the stand yesterday, was escorted out of court by the police.

The inquiry, set for five days, continues today.