20-year-old man arrested for allegedly killing Canadian

JAKARTA (JP): A 20-year-old man who allegedly killed his Canadian brother-in-law after learning that the victim frequently assaulted his sister, was arrested yesterday morning.

A police team, led by Cilandak Police Chief Capt. Nurhayati, arrested the suspect, Kurniawan alias Iwan, at his parent's house on Jl. Habsy in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, at about 9 a.m.

The police had traced Iwan in Senen, Central Jakarta, and Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, after the murder.

During the preliminary interrogation, Iwan said that he often felt offended when the victim, Jon Joseph Mitchon, 38, called his wife, Ovelia, a hooker when she was about to leave their house for work at 10 p.m. every day.

"The expatriate, according to Iwan, also often used the same word when he quarreled with his wife," said Nurhayati.

The South African-born Mitchon lived in a rented house on Jl. Bahari Raya in Cilandak, South Jakarta with his wife and two children. Iwan and three of his brothers also lived there.

Iwan said that his sister was like a mother to him because she had taken care of him since he was a child.

Another police source said Mitchon had not given any money to Ovelia for three months. The couple had also slept in different beds during that period, said the officer.

During questioning, Ovelia told police that she worked at a restaurant but she declined to mention its name. Relatives said Ovelia left her house at 10 p.m and returned at 3 a.m every day.

Ovelia worked to support her four brothers and her two children from her first husband. Mitchon worked at the South Jakarta construction company PT Tri Patra on Jl. TB Simatupang.

After the Isya evening prayer, Iwan witnessed Mitchon became involved in a heated quarrel with Ovelia.

Iwan, dubbed by his sister as a quiet man, took a knife and stabbed Mitchon. The victim managed to evade the blow with his left hand, but he was later stabbed in his stomach.

The victim died instantly. His body has been taken to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for a postmortem examination.

An employee of the morgue said the hospital would only undergo the examination once it had received approval from Mitchon's relatives. (jun/04)