Cornoner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall: Body had 36 wounds

May 21, 2009

Cornoner's inquiry into NTU student's death fall

Body had 36 wounds

Pathologist asked if cuts could have been inflicted during a struggle

By Sujin Thomas & Kimberly Spykerman
		The dead student's (from left) older brother William Widjaja, mother Huang Lixian and father Hartanto Widjaja were at the hearing yesterday, seeking answers to his death. -- ST PHOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

View more photos

WHEN he was found below a bridge at the Nanyang Technological University, undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja had more than 36 wounds on his body.

About the case Nanyang Technological University undergraduate David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, was found dead after falling from a bridge on campus on March 2. Mr Widjaja, an Indonesian national, was in his final year at NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. ... more Close friend also on the stand Also on the stand on Wednesday was a close friend of Mr Widjaja, fellow Indonesian undergraduate Hardian Setiawan Winata. The final-year student described his friend as a hard worker in his first year at university. However, he added that subsequently, Mr Widjaja appeared distracted and spent a lot of time in his room playing computer games, often skipping tutorials as a result. ... more

Many of these were cuts on his arms and hands, as well as abrasions, a packed Coroner's Court was told on Wednesday at the start of a five-day inquest into circumstances surrounding the Indonesian undergrad's death on March 2.

The 21-year-old final-year student at the university's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering fell four storeys to his death that morning. He allegedly had a quarrel earlier with his final-year project (FYP) supervisor, Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, during which the latter was stabbed.

On Wednesday, pathologist Dr Marian Wang, who carried out an autopsy on Mr Widjaja, said the undergraduate suffered several other injuries, including a fractured breast bone.

These, she said, were consistent with someone who had fallen from a height.

Based on what she found, Dr Wang, the registrar of the Centre for Forensic Medicine of the Health Sciences Authority, concluded that Mr Widjaja had died from multiple injuries, she told the court yesterday.

Asked about the cuts on the student's arms and hands, Dr Wang said they could have been inflicted while he was involved in a struggle with another party to gain control of a knife. Some wounds may have also been self-inflicted, she added.

During cross-examination, lawyer Shashi Nathan, who represents the Widjaja family - they were in court on Wednesday, along with Indonesian media and embassy representatives - asked Dr Wang whether some injuries were defensive in nature.

She denied this initially, saying that injuries sustained in self-defence are 'usually accompanied by stab wounds or deep cuts. These are absent in this case'.

Under persistent questioning, however, she said she could not rule out such a possibility.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=29375.2