Belu man does it his way

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): A poor father of eight from Belu, about 360 kilometers northeast of here, chopped off his penis when he realized his wife was pregnant again.

Hendrikus Bria, 38, a known psychotic, was now staring blankly at a hospital ceiling but had no regrets for what he did last week, his relatives said yesterday.

His wife, Katarina, 35, said she had taken all the necessary precautions, such as hiding all knives and sharp weapons, on seeing Bria so sad last week.

Bria eventually cracked, hysterically calling Katarina, who was collecting grass for the cattle, to come over to him. He dropped his pants and cut off his penis with a kitchen knife.

She ran for help but Bria trailed behind and threw the severed part at her feet when she stopped.

"He was extremely stressed at seeing his wife pregnant again, knowing that his income was inadequate to support his family," said Philipus, one of Bria's relatives.

Philipus said Bria once told him he would rather lose his dear part than sleep with a wife who refused to make love with him simply because she, too, didn't want another baby. (yac/pan)