Distraught father kills children, commits suicide

Distraught father kills children, commits suicide

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A grieving father killed five of his
children on Monday and seriously injured another son before
committing suicide in Karangasem, about 70 kilometers east of
Denpasar.

Karangasem Police chief Lt. Col. Ida Bagus Wirama told
reporters on Tuesday that the murders occurred at about 1 a.m. in
the family's home in Sidekarya village.

Ni Nengah Alit, 25, Ni Nengah Sari, 16, I Komang Agung, 12, Ni
Komang Merta Ganti, 10 and Putu Eka Putra, 5, died after their
throats were slashed. I Ketut Merta Jengki, 7, suffered wounds to
his neck and abdomen but was able to ask for help from neighbors.

Several witnesses said I Wayan Mangku Rai, who was in his mid-
40s, was distraught over the death of his first wife, Ni Komang
Agung, 46. Rai was also known to locals as a balian (traditional
healer) under the name Manik Tengi.

Neighbors said he spent the two previous nights sleeping next
to his wife's grave.

Wirama quoted witnesses as saying that Rai asked the six
children to pray together in a family shrine at their house,
which stands on a 300-meter-high hill.

Rai is believed to have cut the children's throats while they
slept.

Wirama said neighbors and village officials found Rai dead
from a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck. His body lay on the
front porch of the house and the children were found sprawled in
a small bedroom.

Jengki is being treated at Klungkung Hospital.

"The six bodies were properly taken care by the people and
buried at a village cemetery by local residents," Wirama said.

All but Merta Ganti were Rai's children from his late first
wife.

Rai also asked his second wife Ni Nengah Bunter, 34, to take
part in the prayer on Monday night, Wirama said.

"But Bunter refused. She and two of her three children slept
at her parents' house."

Wirama said he was concerned by the tragedy.

"I'm very sad over this case. We now have to hold a
purification ceremony in the village which will be very costly."

Balinese tradition stipulates that residents must conduct a
ritual following unnatural deaths to prevent evil ramifications.
The expense can range from Rp 20 million to hundreds of million
of rupiah. (zen/edt)