Ongen’s body must undergo autopsy: Lawmaker

JAKARTA. The body of Raymon ‘Ongen’ Latuihamallo, 56, who was the key witness in the murder of human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib, and who passed away on Wednesday evening, must undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death, a lawmaker says.

Eva Kusuma Sundari of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that the mystery of the murder of Munir would be buried along with the coffin of Ongen, who died of a heart attack.

Ongen was on the flight to Amsterdam from Jakarta with Munir on Sept. 7, 2004, during which the latter was poisoned to death.

“He was our hope in revealing the mastermind behind Munir’s murder,” Eva said on Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Eva, a member of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs and human rights, said that while Ongen had withdrawn his testimony on the death of Munir, the public still expected him to retract his decision prior to his death.

Therefore, she said, the police must perform an autopsy on Ongen’s body in order to reassure the public, adding that several online media sources had reported that Ongen had been in a brawl with a military officer days before his death.

“Ongen’s family must also be there so the autopsy process is transparent,” she added.

Survived by his wife Eta Latuihamallo and his two children, Ongen’s funeral is expected to be on Friday. (asa/The Jakarta Post)