A former president of the NTU Electronic Sports Club, he enjoyed computer gaming, they said, but he was a private person who preferred to indulge in this alone in his hostel room. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF NTU CYBERGAMES SOCIETY
DAVID Hartanto Widjaja, 21, was a bright student who came to Singapore four years ago on an Asean scholarship. But things had not seemed right lately.
His performance was slipping and he was struggling with his final-year project, which was due next month.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) president Su Guaning told reporters yesterday that he learnt from Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk that Widjaja was having problems with his project, which was a discussion on the creation of 3-D images.
But Prof Chan said he had felt that all was not lost, and that some help was all the young man needed to pull through. NTU students have to complete this project to graduate. How well they do in it can make a difference in the honours classification of their degree.
Prof Chan, who was Widjaja's project supervisor, also supervised him through a six-month industrial attachment programme last year.
Dr Su said that Prof Chan seemed regretful and upset that if Widjaja was having problems, he had not spotted them.
A group of about 20 of the student's friends gathered on campus last evening, when they heard about his death. Many appeared shaken. Final-year electrical and electronic engineering student Hardian Setiawan, who had known Widjaja for the last four years, said he was always cheerful.
More about him emerged from his friends: They called him a 'genius' in maths who had previously represented Indonesia in the International Mathematical Olympiad.
A former president of the NTU Electronic Sports Club, he enjoyed computer gaming, they said, but he was a private person who preferred to indulge in this alone in his hostel room. He had a single-room in Hall Four, and was not known to be social.
Associate Professor Michael Heng, who taught him for one class last semester, said he remembered appointing Widjaja as a representative for his tutorial group, but he misunderstood this and thought he had been put in charge of the entire lecture group.
Prof Heng said the student approached him to say that he could not handle such heavy responsibilities. 'Although it was a misunderstanding, he stated his case clearly. I thought he was confident.' Widjaja's family arrived from Indonesia last night and met NTU officials.
