...and because he was found on the road (railway tracks), I asked the Metro (Greater Jakarta) Police chief to immediately investigate it.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo on Friday expressed his condolences over the passing of table tennis para-athlete David Jacobs who had won dozens of medals for Indonesia in international competitions.

"(Jacobs) was in the process of obtaining a visa to go to Slovenia for (a) table tennis (tournament). Thus, we consider David (Jacobs) a hero because he passed away amid his attempt to make our country proud," the minister remarked here.

However, he said that he did not have the details regarding the athlete’s death.

Ariotedjo further said that after receiving news of Jacobs’ demise, he immediately phoned the chief of Greater Jakarta Regional Police, Inspector General Karyoto, to ask the police to investigate the case and examine the chronology of the athlete’s death.

"We have asked (the related division in) the Youth and Sports Ministry to pay attention to him (the late athlete) and because he was found on the road (railway tracks), I asked the Metro (Greater Jakarta) Police chief to immediately investigate it,” the minister informed.

“Thus, may his spirit be at peace, and certainly, as Menpora (Youth and Sports Minister), I am grateful for his achievements for this country," Ariotedjo said adding that he planned to go to the late athlete’s funeral home.

Earlier, head of the public relations department of state-run train service provider PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Operation Area (Daop) 1 Jakarta, Eva Chairunisa, said in a press release that the late athlete was found lying on a railway track.

Jacobs was found at the Gambir-Juanda railway Kilometer (KM) 4 + 700 on Thursday (April 27, 2023) night, she informed.

"The late person was identified as Dian David Mickael Jacobs. When he was found, he was still unconscious and the officers immediately brought him to Husada Hospital, Central Jakarta, using the station’s ambulance to get further treatment," the KAI Daop 1 official said.

The hospital announced that the athlete died around 3:30 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) on Friday, she added.

Chairunisa said that KAI was not aware of the reason why Jacobs was found on the railway track.

"Currently, the police are conducting an investigation and the station is very supportive in providing information to help the investigation and will continue to coordinate with the police, " she added.

According to a statement issued by chief of the Central Jakarta Resort Police, Senior Commissioner Komarudin, on Friday, when a railroad police officer found Jacobs at 9:15 p.m. WIB on Thursday, he was still breathing, but had severe bleeding on the back of his head.

The officer also found out that the athlete was supposed to board a train to Solo city, Central Java province, from Gambir Station, Jakarta, at 8:45 p.m. WIB that day.

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Translator: Muhammad Ramdan, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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