German tourist found dead

JAKARTA (JP): A 51-year-old German tourist committed suicide by hanging herself in her hotel room in Karangasem regency, Bali, on Wednesday, Antara reported on Saturday.

Sonya Balbach, a German reporter, was believed to have planned her death, as she has left enough money to cover all expenses from her cremation to returning her ashes to Germany, Gus Sumastra, the head of the Antarbangsa agency providing services for foreigners, said.

Balbach, who arrived in Bali on June 14, left four letters expressing her wish to die on the island. It was her third visit to Bali.

In one of her letters, addressed to the German Consulate in Denpasar, she discussed her feelings about the beauty of Bali.

Her three other letters were individually addressed to the owner of the hotel, the local police in Karangasem village and an Indonesian friend in Denpasar.

As of Saturday, her body was still being kept in Denpasar Hospital.

"We are still waiting for confirmation from her family, whether they want the body to be sent to Germany or to be cremated in Bali," Gus Sumastra said.