Indonesian held for killing Malaysian family in Cairo

Indonesian held for killing Malaysian family in Cairo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An Indonesian citizen has been arrested in Egypt for allegedly
killing four members of a Malaysian family in their home in Cairo
during an alleged robbery over the weekend, an official said
Sunday.

The Antara news agency reported the killing happened on Friday
morning local time. The deceased Muhammad Zaki, 27, was found
dead with three stab wounds to his back, one to his chest and one
to his neck, while his wife Nur, 27 and their two children
Maryam, seven and Muaz, three, were burned to death in their
room.

An Indonesian, only identified by his initials "AD" was
arrested on the same day.

Antara said a preliminary investigation by local police
suspected robbery to be the motive for the killings as some
US$6,800 of money were stolen from the deceased.

Indonesian Embassy in Cairo defense attache Col. Yuhastiar
confirmed the arrest of AD and said according to Cairo police the
suspect had admitted to murdering the entire family.

"He (AD) confessed to the killings and local police have
strong evidence that confirms his involvement in the murder,"
Yuhastiar said as quoted by Antara.

If convicted, under the Egyptian law, AD would get capital
punishment.

Embassy protocol and consular affairs bureau chief Krishna
Djelani said the embassy would provide legal assistance to the
suspect.

"We are still trying to get access from the police to meet the
suspect. We cannot give further details at the moment," Krishna
told Antara.

Both AD and Zaki ran Asian restaurants at the Madinat Nasr
district, where most Indonesian and Malaysian students reside
during their stay in Cairo.

Zaki owned and ran Asbat restaurant for several years but he
closed the restaurant just three days before the incident. While
AD opened Asia restaurant in June.

In addition, Zaki, a student at Al-Azhar University, also ran
a money exchange kiosk.

Abdul Latif, a leader of Malaysian students in Cairo, said AD
and Zaki were reportedly engaged in battle of words on Thursday
night. On Friday morning AD called Zaki, saying that he wanted to
exchange some US$13,000 into Egyptian pounds.

According to the police, AD number was recorded at Zaki's
cell phone as the last person making the call to Zaki. No further
details were provided regarding the incident.

Before focusing on his restaurant, AD was working temporarily
for the Indonesian embassy. However, he was fired three months
ago as he had often skipped work at the office to take care of
his business.

One of his close friends told Antara that AD owed money to one
of the embassy's local staff members who had loaned him an amount
to buy a car. He had missed several payments on the debt, the
friend said.

Cairo authorities had sealed off the Asia restaurant and AD's
apartment, where his wife, two children and his in-laws were
staying. The family were forbidden from leaving the apartment and
meeting people while the investigation was underway.