Housewife sets herself on fire

JAKARTA (JP): A woman died after setting herself on fire in the bedroom of a house in Tangerang, West Java, police said yesterday.

The reasons behind the 30-year-old housewife's suicide Wednesday afternoon were not known and police were trying to locate her husband and their children.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang identified the woman as Sanah of Nambo village in the Kresek district.

"She killed herself by pouring kerosene over her body and a mattress before setting herself on fire."

Aritonang said that Sanah's neighbor, Rusdi, 20, had noticed the fire inside the woman's house and called other residents to extinguish the blaze.

"But no one would ever have believed that Sanah was inside trying to kill herself. She was found later with severe burns all over her body."

He said Tangerang Police were still trying to collect information from witnesses. (cst)