Anonymous_X: Witnesses in David Widjaja's alleged suicide case

Friday, June 19, 2009

Witnesses in David Widjaja's alleged suicide case

The latest news has a total of 37 witnesses to the coroner's court for the alleged suicide case of David Hartanto Widjaja. (Previously there were 28, but the the Widjaja family of David Widjaja will submit names of 9 more witnesses.)

On a separate news, the first two witnesses provided by the family of the late David Widjaja had been cross-examined in the court: Edwin Lesmana Tjiong and Nolang Fanani.

The family of David Widjaja, the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student who allegedly stabbed a lecturer on campus before falling to his death, will submit the names of nine more witnesses to the coroner's court.

These are on top of the 28 existing witnesses.

Witnesses provided by Widjaja’s family include friends and people who knew him personally.

Widjaja's family is adamant he did not take his own life and has also disputed the autopsy report.

But eyewitnesses said they saw Widjaja pushed himself off the roof of a bridge and fell four stories to his death.

A pathologist who had conducted an autopsy on Widjaja's body said the injuries he sustained were consistent with those caused by fall from height.

On Wednesday, State Coroner Victor Yeo turned down a request from Widjaja's family to adjourn court proceedings.

His family requested for the suspension as they claimed that Widjaja’s brother, William Widjaja, and their father, Hartono Widjaja, have work commitments in Jakarta, making it difficult for them to attend the inquiry in Singapore.

But the state coroner said prior to this request, the family had ample time to make personal arrangements to attend the hearings. He added that is the reason why he was not inclined to make the adjournment.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Widjaja's family to submit names of 9 more witnesses".

The coroner's court has cross-examined the first two witnesses provided by the family of the late David Widjaja.

The 21-year-old Indonesian was a final year Electrical and Electronic Engineering student at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

He had allegedly stabbed his project work supervisor, Chan Kap Luk, before falling to his death in March this year.

The two witnesses knew Widjaja before they entered NTU. Both of them met him at a Mathematics Olympiad programme in Indonesia.

One of the witnesses is Edwin Lesmana Tjiong, who noted that Widjaja once told him that he found the final year project hard and troublesome.

The court also heard he and Widjaja attended the same church located in the Queenstown area. Tjiong said Widjaja used to be regular churchgoer but he started to attend services less frequently shortly before his death.

The second witness, Nolang Fanani, who had recently graduated from NTU, said he last saw Widjaja on the morning of his death as they were walking along a corridor. Fanani said Widjaja appeared normal.

Both witnesses said Widjaja had never spoken to them about Associate Professor Chan. They were also kept in the dark about his scholarship termination.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Coroner's court cross-examines 2 of David Widjaja's friends".

Two witnesses yesterday offered conflicting testimonies of the state of mind of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduate who allegedly attacked his professor and then fell to his death in March.

One said that Mr David Hartanto Widjaja 'looked normal', while the other painted a picture of a troubled young man.

The pair of fellow NTU students who testified were Mr Nolang Fanani and Mr Edwin Lesmana Tjiong, close friends of Mr Widjaja from Indonesia.

They said they were not as close with him on campus here, but still kept in touch largely through online messenger platform MSN.

Mr Fanani, who saw Mr Widjaja only minutes before he allegedly stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, said his friend 'looked normal' as he walked about 200m ahead of him towards the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Mr Widjaja appeared unhurried and had his backpack slung casually over his shoulder, he said.

But Mr Tjiong, who goes to the same Queenstown church as Mr Widjaja, said his friend's infrequent attendance - after having been a regular - had raised alarm bells among church members.

Mr Tjiong said he and two other church members went to Mr Widjaja's hostel room the week before his death to offer him 'help and support', but he was not in at the time. He later promised them they could visit the following week.

Mr Tjiong also said that when he asked Mr Widjaja about how his final-year project was coming along, he got the reply that it was 'bad and troublesome'. However, Mr Widjaja said nothing more about the project, Prof Chan, or that his scholarship had been terminated.

Mr Fanani and Mr Tjiong are among the nine people whose names the Widjaja family submitted to the court as witnesses, on top of the current 28.

Forensic scientist Lim Chin Chin, who resumed her testimony on what happened in Prof Chan's office, said it was 'very likely' the student had stabbed the don.