Four named suspects in BIN murders

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Four people, including a woman, have been declared suspects in the murder of Barkah Hanim, the wife of a National Intelligence Agency (BNI) director, and driver Rachmat bin Rohat on Sunday.

Police said on Tuesday that the suspects, who owed her money, were apparently angry at the abusive language used by the victim when collecting payments from them.

"They were angry because the victim continued to ask for her money back. They couldn't pay because they didn't have any money. So they plotted to kill her," said Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani.

City police general crimes unit chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said police managed to nab suspect Bono, a resident of Kebon Sawit in East Jakarta, on Monday night before arresting other suspects in different locations early on Tuesday.

He said that a woman identified as Ida was nabbed in Cibinong, West Java, while suspects Adnan and Leo were arrested at their residences in Depok and Cakung respectively.

"An eyewitness reported to us that he saw Barkah visiting Bono's house on Sunday. We then interrogated Bono at a nearby police station while several officers searched his house. We found a blood sample that matched Barkah's blood," Mathius said.

The police then arrested Bono, and acting on information supplied by Bono, police arrested three other suspects without much difficulty.

Mathius said that the suspects admitted to killing Barkah, the wife of Abdurrahman Pellu, the newly installed BIN operational director, because they felt humiliated every time she came and asked for her money back.

They also said that they had to kill Rachmat as he witnessed the murder.

Barkah, a resident of Jati Kramat, Bekasi, and her driver, Rahmat, were found dead with multiple stab wounds in a pickup truck parked on Jl. Kampung Setu in Bintara Jaya, Bekasi, early on Sunday.

Their bodies were found in the front of the truck Barkah normally used to deliver furniture from her shop by an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver.

Barkah had been stabbed twice in the neck. Bruising on her face and back indicated that she had also been hit by a blunt object.

Rahmat, a resident of Karang Tembung in Cirebon, West Java, was stabbed 11 times in the chest and three times in the back, as well as being hit by a blunt object on the back of the head, and on the forehead.

"Upon finding the bodies, we tried to determine where the victims were really killed as we believed they were murdered in another place before being brought there," said Mathius.

According to the suspects' confessions, Mathius said, Barkah and Rahmat were killed in Bono's house in Kebon Sawit before the victims were brought to Kampung Setu.