The Strange Case of Udin
Mysterious Guests
A series of strange events took place just before Udin was fatally attacked.
IT was late at night in Samalo Hamlet. Only a few people still went to the noodle stand owned by Nur Sulaiman. The street in front of her stand in Patalan village, which connects Yogyakarta to Parangtritis, Bantul, was not busy either.
While Nur was seated, accompanied by Ponikem, who helps her sell food, a man came wearing a full-face helmet. His white shirt was tucked into his jeans. Because of the helmet, Nur could not clearly see the man's face.
Speaking in Javanese, this tall, well-built man asked if Udin had come home. The Udin he was asking about was a reporter with the Bernas daily newspaper, whose full name was Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin. His rented home lay across the street from Nur Sulaiman's noodle stand.
Ponikem said that Udin had not yet come home. The man then left. He approached a man who was waiting for him south of the stand. They rode off together. "They sped off on a motorcycle, heading north," said Nur, when Tempo met her, two weeks ago. This 65-year-old woman's story has to do with an event which took place before Udin was attacked on the night of Tuesday, August 13, 1996.
November 11, 2014
Mysterious Guests
A series of strange events took place just before Udin was fatally attacked.
IT was late at night in Samalo Hamlet. Only a few people still went to the noodle stand owned by Nur Sulaiman. The street in front of her stand in Patalan village, which connects Yogyakarta to Parangtritis, Bantul, was not busy either.
While Nur was seated, accompanied by Ponikem, who helps her sell food, a man came wearing a full-face helmet. His w
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