Body of teenage girl identified

JAKARTA (JP): A teenage girl who was found dead on Jl. Pegangsaan II in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, has been identified as Layla Juliawati, an 11-year-old Chinese-Indonesian girl.

Parents and relatives of the murdered girl collected her body for cremation from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital yesterday.

None of the family were willing to talk to journalists, but hospital staff revealed that Layla's parents live on Jl. Kerajinan in Taman Sari, West Jakarta.

A forensic expert in the hospital, Agus Purwadianto, said the cause of death might have been strangulation.

"Judging from the bruises around her neck, we believe that she was strangled by her killer," he said on Monday.

Agus, who examined Layla's body, also disclosed that the girl had suffered a serious sexual assault.

Meanwhile, in a contradictory development, Kelapa Gading police said yesterday that they were still in the dark about the identity of the dead girl.

Kelapa Gading subprecinct chief Capt. Asep Suhendar said that four families had reported loved ones missing and were anxious to view the body for identification.

"We're currently cross checking the data and hopefully we'll then get some leads," Asep said.

Jakarta Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang confirmed this report, saying that police were still trying to gather more information.

"We cannot rush things in this kind of matter. What if it turned out that the body was given to the wrong family for burial?" he added. (edt/ivy)