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.