by Mathias Hariyadi

Autopsy results indicate that the heart, eyes and kidneys were missing. After going to Malaysia, an Indonesian official denies the organs were harvested in that country. The three construction workers were shot during a confrontation with police. For Malaysian authorities, they were involved in a robbery and resisted arrest.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - There is no evidence of "human organ trafficking" in the case of three illegal migrant workers from Indonesia killed during a police operation last March in Malaysia. The case had the potential of setting off a diplomatic row between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Brig Gen Bambang Purwanto, director of protection at the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Migrant Workers, said on Friday there was also no evidence the organs in one of the men, Herman, were illegally harvest in Malaysia as public opinion and his family claim. Results from the autopsy conducted in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, found that he was missing eyes, heart and kidneys.

The facts date to 23 March, when Malaysian police carried out an operation against illegal workers in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan state. Three Indonesian construction workers, identified as Herman, Abdul Kadir Jaelani and Mad Noon resisted arrest with machetes, this according to Malaysian authorities. Police responded and shot to death all three.

The story was destined for the back pages of newspapers as another sad case of poverty and exploitation with the bodies returned to the families, which was done on 5 April. Unlike the families of the other two dead men, Herman's relatives decided to have his body exhumed for autopsy.  Initial reports indicate that the three men were missing important organs, harvested perhaps before their bodies were repatriated.

From the start, people began suspecting that hearts, kidneys and eyes were removed without the families' consent to be sold on the international black market for organs.

In many Asian nations, including China, harvesting organs from death row patients is not uncommon. A flourishing black market exists, as would-be organ recipients are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars for organs.

Malaysian authorities have rejected the accusations out of hand. In Indonesia, the story has instead caused a storm with many lawmakers calling on the government and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to demand an official explanation.

Brig Gen Bambang, who is back from Malaysia where he conducted a quick investigation, said that the three migrant workers were killed by Malaysian Police prior to committing a robbery with facemasks and machetes.

At present, no official statement has come forth. The Foreign Ministry has not released any details about the affair, which remains clouded by many unanswered questions.

• indonesia
• malaysia
• migrant
• workers
• death
• organ
• trafficking
• harvest