Alleged killer of Hutagalung's family arrested<\/p>\n
BEKASI (JP): City police have arrested a man strongly believed
\nto be the country's long-wanted suspect in the brutal killing of
\nsix members of Herbin Hutagalung's family here early last year,
\nreliable sources said.<\/p>\n
The suspect, identified as Suyono, alias Gendut (Fatso), is
\nbelieved to have slain Hutagalung's wife, sister-in-law and four
\nchildren, was arrested at an unidentified city in Malaysia early
\nthis week, the sources, who asked for anonymity, told The Jakarta
\nPost yesterday.<\/p>\n
A number of senior detectives, including head of Crime
\nInvestigation Directorate of the Greater Jakarta Police, Col.
\nNurfauzi, are now in Malaysia to question the suspect.<\/p>\n
However, Deputy chief to the Greater Jakarta Police, Brig.
\nGen. Hamami Nata said he had no idea about the arrest of Gendut.
\n\"I hope there will be big news over the next few days,\" he told
\nthe Post.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia M. Jacob Dasto and other
\nofficials at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur could not be reached for
\nconfirmation.<\/p>\n
\"The ambassador is still staying at a hotel in town and we're
\nnot allowed to tell you the hotel's address,\" Robert, an employee
\nat the ambassador's residence, said by phone yesterday evening.<\/p>\n
According to the sources, police have collected a number of
\ndocuments from the suspect's hometown in East Java to help
\nconfirm the identity of the man.<\/p>\n
\"Everything matches, so far,\" another source said.<\/p>\n
However, it remains unknown whether the police have checked
\nthe man's fingerprints.<\/p>\n
The sources strongly hope that this time the city police have
\nthe real culprit after an almost 22-month search.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people, including the suspect's relatives have been
\nquestioned and a large number of towns and villages in Java, Bali
\nand Sumatra have been combed in vain.<\/p>\n
The police once arrested the wrong man, a construction worker
\nwhose physical characteristics were similar to those of Gendut.<\/p>\n
The man, later identified as Sutrisno, was released a few days
\nlater after the police found that his fingerprints did not match
\nthose of the suspect.<\/p>\n
Since the killing on Jan. 5 last year, police have named
\nGendut as the only suspect in the murder of the two elderly women
\nand the four youngsters, aged between three and 18 years old.<\/p>\n
The six victims were brutally clubbed to death with blunt
\nobjects at the family's house in Kampung Sawah, Jatiwarna
\nvillage, Pondok Gede, 30 kilometers east of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Another Hutagalung daughter, who is under five years old,
\nsurvived the attack and is expected to become the key witness in
\nthe case.<\/p>\n
Several weeks after the murder, which became headline news at
\nthe time, National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro
\nordered all his personnel throughout the country to help bring in
\nthe suspect, dead or alive.<\/p>\n
Banurusman told reporters many times that Gendut was living
\nand working somewhere in Malaysia. He said that due to lack of
\ninformation it was not easy to locate him.<\/p>\n
The public has viewed the police's failure to find the suspect
\nnegatively.(bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alleged-killer-of-hutagalungs-family-arrested-1447893297",
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