Depressed man suspected of killing son

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"My son was a lovely boy," 32-year-old Suhana said softly. "Whenever I had free time, I used to take him out to show him off to the neighbors. My only desire in life was to raise him up and make him happy."

As the only son of Suhana and Mitro Mulyadi, his father, Bangkit Pangestu was the apple of his parents' eyes ever since he was born in the forth year of their marriage.

However, his mother's wish will not come true. For Bangkit, who would have celebrated his fourth birthday on May 20, appears to have been murdered by his own father.

Mitro was arrested by the Pasar Minggu Police on Tuesday afternoon after allegedly torturing and strangling the boy to death in his aunt's house in the Kebagusan area of South Jakarta. Police found bruises on Bangkit's legs, nose and neck. The child also had a black eye.

People in the neighborhood said that Mitro had been depressed since he lost his job more than two years ago as a security guard.

To make matters worse, Suhana filed for divorce six months ago.

"Mitro gets drunk almost every day. If he's in a bad mood, he can be very abusive and edgy. But if he's in a good mood, he's a really nice man," said Edy, a neighbor, on Wednesday.

"Once in a while, we saw him carrying Bangkit or taking him for a walk in the neighborhood."

Before the tragedy happened, nobody was aware of just how bad Mitro's psychological state was -- not even Suhana.

"On Tuesday morning, I gave Bangkit his breakfast before I went to work. It was the last time I saw him. His father came after breakfast and took Bangkit away," Suhana said.

"I was very worried about this as we are still legally married. Mitro sometimes yelled at our son."

As she works as a shop attendant at the Graha Cijantung Mall in East Jakarta, Suhana was only able to see her son in the mornings and evenings.

"That morning, I called Mitro's sister, Tuti, (who lives only 200 meters away) to ask her to keep an eye on my boy. She said it would be OK, that Mitro was fine and that he wouldn't harm Bangkit," Suhana recalled.

Unfortunately, nobody was at Tuti's home at the time when Bangkit's father is alleged to have started violently abusing him. By the time Mitro's relatives came home, Bangkit was already dying. Tuti's son immediately took the boy to the nearest health clinic, but the doctor pronounced Bangkit dead on arrival.

Suhana's mother, Marsilah, said that a neighbor told her that something had happened to Bangkit.

"I rushed out into the street and I saw Tuti's son carrying Bangkit in his arms. He placed the boy in my arms. I almost fainted when I saw he was already dead."