Expat found dead in Batam hotel

BATAM, Riau Islands: John Rudolf Eckert, 63, an expatriate from Switzerland was found dead on Thursday at the Harmoni Hotel in Batam.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post, Harmoni Hotel's General Manager, Petrus, said on Friday that Eckert's body was discovered after a friend, who was staying in a different hotel room, had called Eckert repeatedly on Thursday morning through both his cellular phone and the hotel phone, but was unable to reach him. Eckert worked for a multinational company that has a factory on Batam.

Eckert's friend later asked hotel employees to open Eckert's door, which is when the body was found on the bed. Eckert's friend and the hotel employee found several prescription medicines in the hotel room, and there was speculation that he had heart problems. Local police officers are still investigating the case. -- JP