Elderly man stabs ex-wife at child’s wedding reception in North Jakarta

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – A middle-aged woman identified as ES (55) was stabbed by her ex-husband, an elderly man identified as E (67), in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Saturday, 23 May 2026. AKP Handam Samudro, head of the Criminal Investigation Unit at Tanjung Priok Police Station, explained that the incident began when the suspect attended his biological child’s wedding reception at Sunter Karya Timur, North Jakarta. ‘While shaking hands on the reception stage, the suspect suddenly took a knife, allegedly prepared in advance and stored in his bag, and stabbed the victim once in the abdomen,’ Handam Samudro said in a phone interview on Sunday, 24 May 2026. ‘Building security called Tanjung Priok Police Station, and the suspect, along with the evidence, was detained for further investigation,’ he added. The preliminary motive for the stabbing is believed to be revenge, according to police. ‘The suspect carried a letter written the morning before attending the wedding reception,’ he said.