Indonesian killed in US shooting rampage

Indonesian student Partahi Lumbantoruan, who would celebrate his 35th birthday next week, was among the victims of the Monday's massacre in Virginia Tech, local press said Wednesday.

An Indonesian diplomat in the United States has visited the scene and confirmed that Partahi from the North Sumatra capital of Medan was listed in the death toll.

"This is the destiny I have to face," his father Toham Lumbantoruan told leading news website Detikcom.

Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat made a phone call directly to him on Tuesday evening to inform the tragedy, said 67-year-old Toham, a retired army officer.

Partahi earned his master degree in civil engineering from Parahyangan University in the West Java capital of Bandung in 2001. His willing to study in the U.S. was hampered by stricter immigration laws following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"He finally left for the United States in January 2004," said Toham, now a member of the regional legislative council.

"Since media ran reports of the shooting rampage, I have been praying the Lord for my son's soul to keep. I kept waiting a phone call from my son. But it was a phone call from the Indonesian Ambassador in the U.S. that came to me, telling my son was one of the victims."

Teguh Wardoyo, a diplomat in the Washington embassy, said it might take four to five days to return the body of Partahi due to lengthy legal procedures.

Source: Xinhua