Evidence seems to indicate Manimaren's suicide

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police are still investigating the death of high-profile businessman Marimutu Manimaren, who apparently jumped from the 56-floor of the Aston Hotel on Jl. Garnisun Setiabudi in South Jakarta early Tuesday morning.

"We are still investigating the case although so far all clues point to suicide," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Prasetyo said police had not found any indication of foul play.

Manimaren, 46, is the younger brother of Marimutu Sinivasan, the president director of the country's largest textile firm, PT Texmaco Jaya, which is believed to be in financial difficulty.

Manimaren, the former deputy treasurer of the Golkar party, had recently been summoned by the House of Representatives in connection with the government's controversial decision to buy fighter jets from Russia. He denied any knowledge of the deal, through he did accompany President Megawati Soekarnoputri to Russia when the deal was made.

Many relatives and friends of Manimaren, who was buried on Wednesday at the Kedung Kandang cemetery in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, doubted Manimaren committed suicide.

Committing suicide would have been entirely out of character for Manimaren, who was known to be cheerful, dynamic and a strong and resilient person, those who knew him said.

Prasetyo said a hotel employee had offered Manimaren a room close to the ground, but he insisted on reserving a room on the top floor.

Manimaren had reserved the room from Sunday but only checked in at 10:30 p.m. on Monday night.

Police were forced to saw the lock to enter the room, which had been locked from the inside.

"Later, we found that the room key (in the form of card) was in his wallet on his person," Prasetyo said.

Prasetyo said police had only found fingerprints belonging to Manimaren in the room.

Setiabudi Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kusdaryanto said earlier that the businessman, of Indian descent, was alone when the incident took place.

"I saw a footprint on the table leaning against the window ... It means that he deliberately jumped off," said Kusdaryanto.

Manimaren did not leave any suicide note in his room, priced at Rp 950,000 (US$111) per night.

Manimaren is involved with three textile companies, namely PT Ungaran Sari Garments in Central Java, and PT Citra Abadi Sejati and PT Busana Perkasa Garments both in Bogor, West Java. There are understood to be no financial problems.