New Paper
8 April 2009
Dad of Indonesian student who fell to death after allegedly stabbing NTU prof says...
When he said he lost his scholarship, I said: No problem
By Crystal Chan
THE family of Indonesian student David Hartanto Widjaja has finally spoken out to clarify that they knew about his school problems.
Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, Mr Hartono Widjaja, 56, dismissed earlier reports that his son had kept his family in the dark about the termination of his Asean scholarship.
David Widjaja, 21, fell to his death after allegedly stabbing his professor in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on 2Mar.
'Last year, NTU began sending us letters, warning us that David's grades had slipped. He was scoring mostly Cs and Ds,' Mr Widjaja said in Mandarin over the phone from Jakarta.
'Of course, as parents, we scolded him for playing too much computer games, and we tried telling him to pay more attention to his studies.'
Just two weeks before the tragedy, he phoned his parents with the news that his scholarship had been revoked.
Mr Widjaja said: 'My son sounded normal when he told us. He knew it was coming as he had been playful and had neglected his studies.
'When David signed the agreement for the scholarship, he knew he was required to maintain good grades but I guess he was addicted to computer games.
'My wife and I told him: 'No problem. It's only one semester before you graduate and we can afford the fees'.'
The outstanding fees came to only a few thousand dollars, said Mr Widjaja.
Though the scholarship was terminated, his son still had to work in Singapore for three years, as the Singapore Government had already paid his school fees for the last three years.
His son had hoped to work in the electronics sector here, said Mr Widjaja.
Autopsy report
He said the family received the autopsy report on Sunday and asked an Indonesian doctor to explain it to them as it was written in English.
'We're not fluent in English and we needed someone to help explain the many medical terms. 'When asked about the contents of the autopsy report, Mr Widjaja said: 'It said my son had many injuries that were caused by stabbing and slashing. It does not say whether my son had committed suicide or not.'
Mr Widjaja and his wife, Madam Huang Lixian, 49, claimed they did not see any injuries on their son's wrists when they collected his body on 3 Mar.
'His wrists were bandaged so we didn't see the supposed wounds,' he said.
'But we asked the investigating officer and he said there were no injuries on David's wrists.'
However, The New Paper understands that the report did mention incisive wounds on David Widjaja's arms, including those on his wrists. It is understood that the cut on one wrist was deeper than the other.
The student had gone to see Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, in his office, and later allegedly pulled out a knife and attacked him.
After the injured Prof Chan fled, the student was seen by students climbing over a ledge along a common corridor one floor below Prof Chan's office. Minutes later, he fell to his death.
Said Mr Widjaja: 'It's very difficult for us to accept that our child could have behaved like a thug, taking a knife with him to attack his professor.'
The family also refuse to accept that he could have committed suicide.
Describing his son as an obedient boy, Mr Widjaja felt it was out of his character to attack anyone.
He said: 'He never gave us problems. He was a very polite and helpful boy. If his classmates had problems in their schoolwork, he would help them.'
Mr Widjaja also dismissed talk that his son was struggling with his final-year project, which Prof Chan was supervising.
He said: 'Every time we asked about his studies, he would say he was coping fine. He never mentioned problems.'
Mr Widjaja, who works in the electronics line, said his younger son was bright but addicted to computer games.
He and his homemaker wife had pinned their hopes on him, hoping he would graduate and get a good job.
They have another son, William, 24, a technician.
Mr Widjaja said: 'David did exceptionally well in maths but he also loved playing computer games since his Secondary 2 days.
'He wanted to study in NTU as he heard it was a world-class university in engineering.'
No meeting with prof
The parents had wanted to see Prof Chan to find out what happened, but said that NTU rejected their request.
An NTU spokesman said the Widjajas wanted to see Prof Chan on the day of the incident, but it was not possible as he had just undergone surgery.
The university said it tried to arrange a meeting the next day, but it fell through as the Widjajas were busy collecting their son's ashes and had to fly back to Jakarta.
But Mr Widjaja denies this.
He said: 'NTU certainly did not promise to arrange a meeting with Prof Chan.'
The family intends to return to Singapore for the coroner's inquiry.
'We have to know the truth. My wife still cries when she thinks about David. It's very hard for parents to bury their child,' said Mr Widjaja.
'Prof Chan is recovering but our son will never come back.'
-------------------------
Indonesian police won't investigate death as it took place in S'pore
INDONESIAN police have rejected a request by David Hartanto Widjaja's parents to look into his death.
The Jakarta Post quoted national police spokesman Abu Bakar Nataprawira as saying they were not able to investigate, as the death occurred in Singapore.
He added that the request should be addressed to the Singapore police.
The Jakarta Globe reported last Wednesday that Widjaja's family did not believe the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student took his own life.
They held a press conference on 1 Apr in Jakarta where they also claimed that they were informed by a Singaporean police officer that 'there were no cuts on his wrists', the newspaper reported.
The Singapore police have denied this.
'Our officer, Soh Chee Eng, did not make any comments on the deceased's injuries to his next-of-kin, as erroneously reported by the Jakarta Globe,' said police spokesman Liu Xiangling.
The newspaper also reported that according to NTU, an Iranian student had seen Widjaja cut his wrists but requests to meet the witness were denied.
It said that according to NTU, David had stabbed the professor while the latter was sitting in his chair in his office.
An NTU spokesman has denied the reports.
He said: 'In the media statements issued by NTU with regard to the 2 Mar incident involving David Hartanto Widjaja, the university did not make any reference to whether there had been cuts on David's wrists or that David stabbed Professor Chan Kap Luk while the professor was sitting in his chair in his office.'
The New Paper understands that Widjaja's autopsy report mentioned incisive wounds to his arms, including the wrists.
His older brother, William Widjaja, confirmed that the family has received a certified copy of the autopsy report from NTU via courier.
The NTU spokesman said that it had been authorised by the parents to collect the autopsy report on 2 Apr afternoon. It was sent to the family the next day.
Ms Liu said the autopsy was conducted by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on 3 Mar as required by Singapore law.
'The HSA is responsible for all forensic post-mortem examinations in Singapore and it is an independent authority from the Singapore Police Force,' she said.
Another Indonesian newspaper, Kompas, reported on its website that it was announced at the press conference that a verification team would leave for Singapore this week.
The team, led by Mr Iwan Piliang, a citizen journalist, comprises bloggers and citizen reporters.
'There will be 12 bloggers from Indonesia and the Indonesian citizen journalist association,' Mr Piliang said.
The team plans to meet key witnesses, including Widjaja's friends and those they believe have information about his death.
Mr Piliang added: 'We are only a verification team, instead of an investigation team. We are trying to verify what was really going on.'
Kompas also reported that a female cleaner in NTU had told Widjaja's father, Mr Hartono Widjaja, that she had heard screams of 'They want to kill me, they want to kill me...'
Mr Widjaja claimed to have spoken to her when he visited NTU on 2 Mar, the day his son died.
Under Singapore law, the State Coroner has the power to hold an inquiry into all unnatural deaths unless it is later found to be due to natural causes.
The Coroner's Inquiry is held in open court and looks into the full circumstances of the death, including whether any person is criminally involved in the cause of the death.
Police investigations are presented fully to the Coroner for this purpose.
Ms Liu said: 'While the date of the Coroner's Inquiry has not been fixed, the case has been fixed for further court mention on 17 Apr.
'The mention will be via video-link between the State Coroner and police investigators and no other witnesses or persons will be present.'
This is to ascertain the progress of investigations as of the date of the mention.
Ms Liu added: 'Police investigations are continuing and the police will be thorough in their investigations to establish what actually happened.
'The family of David Widjaja will be kept informed of further developments on the case.'
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
8 April 2009
Dad of Indonesian student who fell to death after allegedly stabbing NTU prof says...
When he said he lost his scholarship, I said: No problem
By Crystal Chan
THE family of Indonesian student David Hartanto Widjaja has finally spoken out to clarify that they knew about his school problems.
Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, Mr Hartono Widjaja, 56, dismissed earlier reports that his son had kept his family in the dark about the termination of his Asean scholarship.
David Widjaja, 21, fell to his death after allegedly stabbing his professor in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on 2Mar.
'Last year, NTU began sending us letters, warning us that David's grades had slipped. He was scoring mostly Cs and Ds,' Mr Widjaja said in Mandarin over the phone from Jakarta.
'Of course, as parents, we scolded him for playing too much computer games, and we tried telling him to pay more attention to his studies.'
Just two weeks before the tragedy, he phoned his parents with the news that his scholarship had been revoked.
Mr Widjaja said: 'My son sounded normal when he told us. He knew it was coming as he had been playful and had neglected his studies.
'When David signed the agreement for the scholarship, he knew he was required to maintain good grades but I guess he was addicted to computer games.
'My wife and I told him: 'No problem. It's only one semester before you graduate and we can afford the fees'.'
The outstanding fees came to only a few thousand dollars, said Mr Widjaja.
Though the scholarship was terminated, his son still had to work in Singapore for three years, as the Singapore Government had already paid his school fees for the last three years.
His son had hoped to work in the electronics sector here, said Mr Widjaja.
Autopsy report
He said the family received the autopsy report on Sunday and asked an Indonesian doctor to explain it to them as it was written in English.
'We're not fluent in English and we needed someone to help explain the many medical terms. 'When asked about the contents of the autopsy report, Mr Widjaja said: 'It said my son had many injuries that were caused by stabbing and slashing. It does not say whether my son had committed suicide or not.'
Mr Widjaja and his wife, Madam Huang Lixian, 49, claimed they did not see any injuries on their son's wrists when they collected his body on 3 Mar.
'His wrists were bandaged so we didn't see the supposed wounds,' he said.
'But we asked the investigating officer and he said there were no injuries on David's wrists.'
However, The New Paper understands that the report did mention incisive wounds on David Widjaja's arms, including those on his wrists. It is understood that the cut on one wrist was deeper than the other.
The student had gone to see Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, in his office, and later allegedly pulled out a knife and attacked him.
After the injured Prof Chan fled, the student was seen by students climbing over a ledge along a common corridor one floor below Prof Chan's office. Minutes later, he fell to his death.
Said Mr Widjaja: 'It's very difficult for us to accept that our child could have behaved like a thug, taking a knife with him to attack his professor.'
The family also refuse to accept that he could have committed suicide.
Describing his son as an obedient boy, Mr Widjaja felt it was out of his character to attack anyone.
He said: 'He never gave us problems. He was a very polite and helpful boy. If his classmates had problems in their schoolwork, he would help them.'
Mr Widjaja also dismissed talk that his son was struggling with his final-year project, which Prof Chan was supervising.
He said: 'Every time we asked about his studies, he would say he was coping fine. He never mentioned problems.'
Mr Widjaja, who works in the electronics line, said his younger son was bright but addicted to computer games.
He and his homemaker wife had pinned their hopes on him, hoping he would graduate and get a good job.
They have another son, William, 24, a technician.
Mr Widjaja said: 'David did exceptionally well in maths but he also loved playing computer games since his Secondary 2 days.
'He wanted to study in NTU as he heard it was a world-class university in engineering.'
No meeting with prof
The parents had wanted to see Prof Chan to find out what happened, but said that NTU rejected their request.
An NTU spokesman said the Widjajas wanted to see Prof Chan on the day of the incident, but it was not possible as he had just undergone surgery.
The university said it tried to arrange a meeting the next day, but it fell through as the Widjajas were busy collecting their son's ashes and had to fly back to Jakarta.
But Mr Widjaja denies this.
He said: 'NTU certainly did not promise to arrange a meeting with Prof Chan.'
The family intends to return to Singapore for the coroner's inquiry.
'We have to know the truth. My wife still cries when she thinks about David. It's very hard for parents to bury their child,' said Mr Widjaja.
'Prof Chan is recovering but our son will never come back.'
-------------------------
Indonesian police won't investigate death as it took place in S'pore
INDONESIAN police have rejected a request by David Hartanto Widjaja's parents to look into his death.
The Jakarta Post quoted national police spokesman Abu Bakar Nataprawira as saying they were not able to investigate, as the death occurred in Singapore.
He added that the request should be addressed to the Singapore police.
The Jakarta Globe reported last Wednesday that Widjaja's family did not believe the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student took his own life.
They held a press conference on 1 Apr in Jakarta where they also claimed that they were informed by a Singaporean police officer that 'there were no cuts on his wrists', the newspaper reported.
The Singapore police have denied this.
'Our officer, Soh Chee Eng, did not make any comments on the deceased's injuries to his next-of-kin, as erroneously reported by the Jakarta Globe,' said police spokesman Liu Xiangling.
The newspaper also reported that according to NTU, an Iranian student had seen Widjaja cut his wrists but requests to meet the witness were denied.
It said that according to NTU, David had stabbed the professor while the latter was sitting in his chair in his office.
An NTU spokesman has denied the reports.
He said: 'In the media statements issued by NTU with regard to the 2 Mar incident involving David Hartanto Widjaja, the university did not make any reference to whether there had been cuts on David's wrists or that David stabbed Professor Chan Kap Luk while the professor was sitting in his chair in his office.'
The New Paper understands that Widjaja's autopsy report mentioned incisive wounds to his arms, including the wrists.
His older brother, William Widjaja, confirmed that the family has received a certified copy of the autopsy report from NTU via courier.
The NTU spokesman said that it had been authorised by the parents to collect the autopsy report on 2 Apr afternoon. It was sent to the family the next day.
Ms Liu said the autopsy was conducted by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on 3 Mar as required by Singapore law.
'The HSA is responsible for all forensic post-mortem examinations in Singapore and it is an independent authority from the Singapore Police Force,' she said.
Another Indonesian newspaper, Kompas, reported on its website that it was announced at the press conference that a verification team would leave for Singapore this week.
The team, led by Mr Iwan Piliang, a citizen journalist, comprises bloggers and citizen reporters.
'There will be 12 bloggers from Indonesia and the Indonesian citizen journalist association,' Mr Piliang said.
The team plans to meet key witnesses, including Widjaja's friends and those they believe have information about his death.
Mr Piliang added: 'We are only a verification team, instead of an investigation team. We are trying to verify what was really going on.'
Kompas also reported that a female cleaner in NTU had told Widjaja's father, Mr Hartono Widjaja, that she had heard screams of 'They want to kill me, they want to kill me...'
Mr Widjaja claimed to have spoken to her when he visited NTU on 2 Mar, the day his son died.
Under Singapore law, the State Coroner has the power to hold an inquiry into all unnatural deaths unless it is later found to be due to natural causes.
The Coroner's Inquiry is held in open court and looks into the full circumstances of the death, including whether any person is criminally involved in the cause of the death.
Police investigations are presented fully to the Coroner for this purpose.
Ms Liu said: 'While the date of the Coroner's Inquiry has not been fixed, the case has been fixed for further court mention on 17 Apr.
'The mention will be via video-link between the State Coroner and police investigators and no other witnesses or persons will be present.'
This is to ascertain the progress of investigations as of the date of the mention.
Ms Liu added: 'Police investigations are continuing and the police will be thorough in their investigations to establish what actually happened.
'The family of David Widjaja will be kept informed of further developments on the case.'
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
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