Organs Of Three Killed Indonesians Intact, Says Jakarta

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, April 28 (Bernama) -- Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said there were no organs missing from the bodies of three Indonesian workers who were shot dead in Malaysia in refuting allegations by several parties in the republic that organs were harvested from them. He said according to the Malaysian authorities, there was no evidence to show that organs were harvested from their bodies. "Results of a second autopsy carried out by an Indonesian Police forensic team concluded that allegations of organs missing from the three victims could not be proven," he told a news conference at his office here on Friday. Present at the news conference was Indonesian police headquarters Medical and Health Centre chief, Mossadeq Ishak. He was clarifying allegations by certain groups in Indonesia that the three Indonesians, Herman, 34, Abdul Kadir Jaelani, 25, and Mad Nur, 28, who were shot dead by police on March 24 in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, were victims of human organ trade. The allegations arose when several parties became suspicious when they saw the condition of the bodies of the three Indonesian nationals which were sent to their villages in Lombok Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) on April 5 for burial. Following the allegations, Indonesian authorities exhumed the bodies and carried out a second autopsy at the Indonesian Police Hospital in NTB on Thursday and Friday. Marty said the second autopsy was conducted by a Indonesian police forensic team as well as a team of experts from Universiti Mataram's medical faculty. The involvement of both teams was important to acertain the validity of the autopsy findings apart from proving that the Indonesian government was concerned about the welfare of its citizen overseas. He also said the Indonesian government stepped in on the issue as the allegation of harvesting organs was a serious matter. "The Foreign Ministry fully supported the move for a second autopsy with the consent of the families. The choice of the familiews was the choice of the Indonesian government," he said. Marty said the Indonesian government had always been concerned with the question of protection of its citizens overseas irrespective of their status and background. However, it was always seeking facts on whatever issue raised before issuing statements on a certain issue. At the press conference, Mossadeq said all organs in the three men were intact and complete. "All organs including brain, eyes, heart, liver, kidneys and others were in order," he said. Meanwhile, Marty in an interview with private television station, TVOne which was telecast 'live', criticised the local media for frequently making conclusions that the Indonesian government was not serious in managing the problems of its citizens abroad. The government , he said, had always taken action to resolve issues involving Indonesians even though not all problems were announced to the public. -- BERNAMA