Muhammad Syaifullah, the Borneo bureau chief of the leading Indonesian daily Kompas, was found dead Tuesday in his home in Balikpapan, on the island of Borneo, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. The cause of death is not yet known. The police said that his body was found in front of a TV set, that there was froth around his mouth and that the muscles of his face were contracted.
Syaifullah’s body was found by worried colleagues who went to his home Tuesday morning because his family, who live in another city, had not heard from him since July 24. After learning about the condition of the body, several local journalists speculated that he could have been poisoned. But the police said he could have died as result of a heart attack, hypertension or diabetes. The autopsy is still under way.
Syaifullah was outspoken in his criticism of deforestation and environmental destruction in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo.
“Nothing should be ruled out in advance by those carrying out the autopsy and the investigation,” Paris-based RSF said. “The sensitive stories on which Syaifullah was working could have angered local companies. Even if there are no grounds for saying this with certainty, it is essential that no hypothesis neglected.”
