Widjaja: 'We were not angry with David'

NTU Student's Death

'We were not angry with David'

Brother of dead NTU student says family didn't blame latter after he lost scholarship

By Chong Shin Yen

June 26, 2009

HE chatted with his brother over the Internet regularly, during which they would update each other on their lives. CLOSE: Mr William Hartanto Widjaja says his brother did not mention that he was having problems with his final-year project or had other personal problems. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE Their mother would also send SMSes to David Hartanto Widjaja daily to find out how he was doing. Yesterday, David's elder brother, William Hartanto Widjaja, 24, painted a picture of a close-knit family at the coroner's inquiry into his death. Said Mr Widjaja, an IT consultant: 'We always share and discuss our problems and activities with our parents. We are a close family. It's easy to speak to our parents regarding our problems.' David, 21, a final-year electrical and electronic engineering student at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), fell four storeys to his death at about 10.30am on 2 Mar. He had allegedly stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, the supervisor of his final-year project, in his office earlier that day. Mr Widjaja said he and his brother would share their problems with each other. But David never mentioned that he was having trouble with his final year project or that he had other personal issues. Mr Widjaja also said that David would forward him the e-mails which he had received from NTU. He would then print them out for their parents so that they could be updated about David's progress in school. 'My parents would also call him once every one or two weeks,' said Mr Widjaja. He described his brother as an easy-going and cheerful person who liked to read books and play computer games. Talkative & cheerful The two of them shared a room till David was 17. David came to Singapore to study on an Asean scholarship in 2005. Since then, their parents had visited him twice. The last time the family saw him was during Chinese New Year in January, when David went back to Jakarta. Mr Widjaja said that there was 'nothing unusual' about his brother during his six-day visit back home. 'He was his usual talkative and cheerful self. He didn't appear stressed or anything,' he said. He added that their mother had asked David about the progress of his final year project, but David did not seem worried and said that he would be completing it. 'My parents had full confidence in him and never pressured him,' he said. Mr Widjaja also told the court that the family knew David played online games till very late at night. He said that he and his parents had advised him to cut down on the amount of time he spent on gaming. Mr Widjaja added that they were not surprised to learn that David's scholarship had been terminated as they had 'anticipated' it. When asked by his family's lawyer, Mr Shashi Nathan, how his parents reacted when they were told of the termination, Mr Widjaja said: 'My parents just told him to decrease his (online) playing time and concentrate on his studies. 'We were not angry with him. His results had dropped but it was still good.' Mr Widjaja said that the family was able to pay for David's school fees as he had only one semester to go before he graduated. When asked by Mr Nathan if David had mentioned that he was unhappy or angry with anyone, Mr Widjaja said: 'David never got angry (with anyone). 'He never (thought about) revenge. He was a very light-hearted person.' Mr Widjaja added that he did not think that thoughts of suicide and murder would ever be on his brother's mind. Last week, the inquiry was told that investigators had found a text file in David's laptop. Difficult In the text file, the author had lashed out at his family and described his mother as controlling. The writer said that his mother treated him like a child, which irritated him. He added that his life had become much more 'difficult and complicated' after he entered university. In the three months before David's death, the laptop user had also searched for and visited websites relating to suicide and murder. Mr Widjaja said that he last communicated with his brother on 28 Feb, two days before his death. In their online conversation, David had asked his brother about the specifications of a new laptop he was eyeing. The brothers also chatted about a new online game that was coming out in Singapore. The Widjaja family held a press conference during the lunch break yesterday. They were adamant that David did not take his own life. Mr Widjaja will continue to take the stand today.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=31935.1