[Photo: (From left) Mr Widjaja's mother, father and brother.]

By Chong Shin Yen

THE text file was titled 'last words' and was found in the laptop belonging to Mr David Hartanto Widjaja.

It was written in January, just over a month before he fell to his death at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus.

In it, the writer lashed out at his family - in particular, his mother.

He described her as controlling. And this irked him so much that if his parents were to die, he probably would not cry.

Yesterday, at the coroner's inquiry into Mr Widjaja's death, the court was told that the identity of the file's author could not be determined.

But Senior Staff Sergeant Joe Ng, from the Technology Crime Forensic Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, said Mr Widjaja's Lenovo laptop was protected by a password.

Senior Staff Sgt Ng said that a person would need to know Mr Widjaja's password to access it. He examined the laptop on Mar 9 after using forensic software to gain access.

Mr Widjaja, 21, a final-year electrical and electronic engineering student at NTU, fell four storeys to his death at about 10.30am on Mar 2.

He had allegedly stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, the supervisor of his final-year project, in his office earlier that day.

Senior Staff Sgt Ng told the court that the investigating officer of the case had asked him to check the laptop for information relating to suicide, murder and NTU matters. (See report on facing page.)

He said that the text file which he found was created and written on Jan 25 at about 12.30pm.

In the one-page document, the writer started out by saying: 'If this email is sent, that means most probably I'm no longer in this world.

'Yes, I'm committing suicide and I've my reasons. Delete this email immediately if you're not interested or do not care about me at all.'

He then went on to say that he had had enough of his 'miserable life', having lived most of it 'in sorrow and suffering'.

'I live in a not normal family. My mother likes to control everything in my life (and also my brother and father),' he wrote.

'But even now, she still treats me as a child and somehow that irritates me.'

The writer described his father as a 'very kind person' who never complained or blamed others although their financial situation was not good.

'But too bad my mother often pressurises him, which often causes quarrel between them,' he wrote.

'Do you know how it feels to watch your own family shouting at each other almost every day when you were still a child?'

The writer said that his 'unstable emotion' could have been formed because of this.

He also had this to say about his brother: 'Sometimes he's reliable, but sometimes he's also very unreliable, especially if he got something to do for himself.'

The writer then went on about his childhood, which he described as 'a bad time'.

He said that when he was young, he cried a lot because of his family, friends and teachers.

But after the age of 16, he became 'strong and cold'.

'I never shed tears anymore, to any pitiful situation or event,' he said.

'Maybe this is because I just don't have anymore tears for me to shed for other people. I even doubt I will cry if my mom or dad suddenly passes away.'

The writer said that his life became much more 'difficult and complicated' after he entered university.

He said: 'I have tried to struggle but it seems that my mental is not strong enough to continue...'

The writer ended the note by saying: 'What have I done in my life? Basically nothing but repetition.'

The writer did not sign off on the document.

No e-mail

Senior Staff Sgt Ng told the court that he could not determine if the text file was written as an e-mail.

He had checked the e-mail folder in Mr Widjaja's laptop and could not find it in the 'sent' or 'draft' folders.

Senior Staff Sgt Ng also said that the file had not been changed since it was created.

Mr Widjaja, an Indonesian, has a brother, William, 24, who works as an IT consultant.

His parents and brother, who had been attending the inquiry faithfully since it began last month, were not in court yesterday.

His father, who works in a trading firm, had to return to Jakarta on Thursday because of work commitments. His brother had to attend a meeting and could not take leave from work to come this time.

His mother, a housewife, felt uneasy about remaining here without them and chose to fly off with her husband.

The inquiry continues next Wednesday.

IN THE FILE...

MOTHER
'My mother likes to control everything in my life.'

FATHER
'A very kind person... too bad my mother often pressurises him.'

BROTHER
'Sometimes he's reliable, but sometimes he's also very unreliable.'

HELPLINES

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-2214444

Comcare Helpline: 1800-2220000

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-2837019

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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