Satinah's Diyat not Paid in Installment: Official

Jakarta (Antara) - The Indonesian National Board of Placement and Protection of Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Gatot Abdulah Mansyur has confirmed the diyat (blood money) for the release of migrant worker Satinah from execution in Saudi Arabia was paid in cash. "For sure Satinah is already freed from punishment by beheading in Saudi Arabia because the diyat shortage for 2 million riyals has been transferred to the victim's family. However, the diyat can be accepted only on Sunday, because bank on Friday and Saturday in Saudi Arabia is closed," he told Antara News Agency here on Thursday. According to Gatot the diyat from the Indonesian government amounting 3 million riyals and 4 million riyals were donated by various parties including APJATI and one of bank owners in Saudi Arabia. "Of the 7 million riyals demanded by the victim's family, the government provided 3 million riyals and 4 million riyals from the donators. Thank God (we) can pay off the diyat," he remarked. The former Indonesian ambassador to Saudi Arabia further said in the future there should be a regulation about the amount of diyat paid by the government. "The rules should be made by the government along with the House of Representatives (DPR). Not all the diyat should become burden of the government," he disclosed. Principally the government only helps relieve the diyat payments, and to pay off the diyat is conducted through fund raising by families and other parties, Gatot said. "For instance, the diyat ceiling is set one million riyal, then the rest must be obtained from the society," he noted. (*) Reporting by Budi Santoso