The Indonesian government reaffirmed here Wednesday that the Taiwanese patient who died last week at the Sulianti Suroso Hospital in Jakarta was not killed by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"Based on the result of the examination of the Pathology and Anatomy, we exclude the patient from SARS," said Syafei Achmad, secretary general of preventing infecting disease in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in a press briefing here.

After the patient's death, many people suspected that he died of SARS, which he had possibly contracted before he was hospitalized.

It was reported earlier that the 56-year-old businessman was killed by multiple organ failure.

According to doctor Emil Taupik from the Pathology and Anatomy unit of the University of Indonesia (UI), the examination was carried out on the several organs, including heart, liver and lung, because of the limit of time.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2003)