Shame...

President Yudhoyono calls on Malaysia to punish Indonesian referee`s attackers.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on Malaysia to punish its police officers who attacked and beat up Indonesian karate referee Donald Luther Colopita in Kuala Lumpur last week.

"The president expressed sadness because the incident happened while there was good cooperation between two countries. He also asked that the case be taken to court and resolved based on the law in force in Malaysia," Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Adhyaksa Dault said at the presidential office here on Monday.

The minister said the president also asked Indonesian athletes in Malaysia to refrain from emotional oubursts and remain patient over the incident.

Minister Dault said he had received reports from the chairman of the Indonesian Karate Association (Forki), Luhut Pandjaitan, on the chronology of the incident that befell Colopita.

He said Colopita and his colleague Fahri attended a technical meeting on the Asian Karate Championship in Malaysia on Thursday night (Aug. 18). The meeting lasted into the wee hours of Friday. Because there was no taxi, Colopita chose to return to his hotel on foot.

On the way, four men who thought he he was an illegal visitor, approached him. The four men did not produce their IDs and Colopita as an international referee possessing third- or fourth- level Karate skill resisted the men.

Realizing they were no match for Colopita with fighting skill, the four men produced their IDs. Seeing that they were policemen, Colopita stopped resisting but unluckily the police snapped handcuffs on wrists and they beat him up, the minister said.

Minister Dault said Colopita had been admitted to a hospital for the pain he suffered from being beaten up black and blue. "One may not treat even an animal like that," the minister said.

According to Luhut, the minister said, the injuries around the referee`s eyes were hard to treat and the area around his crotch was swollen.

The minister also supported the step taken by Forki to withdraw directly from the Asian championship in protest against the abuse that had befallen the Indonesian referee.

Dault also said he had sent a letter of strong protest to Malaysian Sports Minister Datok Seri Azalina Othman, calling on the Malaysian sports ministry to exert pressure on Malaysian police to fire the attackers.

MT