Indonesian police find mummified infant in raid on house

Indonesian police find mummified infant in raid on house

Indonesian police raiding the house of a man suspected of fraud
discovered the mummified body of an infant girl hidden inside an
unused aquarium, a report said Tuesday.

The dried up body was found covered in lime powder inside a
glass box hidden at the bottom of the empty aquarium in the house
in Bandung, the state Antara news agency quoted local police
chief Susi Susilawati as saying.

Police raided the house of a man suspected of fraud after
residents complained of suspicious activities by the house owner
and his guests, Susilawati said.

House owner Rifqi Jaya Hermawan, 48, was detained for
questioning and may face charges of murder on top of the fraud
charges, she said without giving details on the fraud cases.

"The finding of the dry corpse was only by coincidence when we
raided the house of Rifqi which is often used for suspicious
meetings. The house owner himself is also suspected of
involvement in fraud cases," Susilawati said.

The identity of the dead body remained unknown, with Rifqi
only admitting the infant died about a month earlier, she said.

The mummified remains were sent to a hospital for forensic
investigation.

Local residents were quoted by Antara as saying they suspected
the house owner and his guests were involved in occult rituals.

In many parts of Indonesia, mummified bodies or body parts are
often used for occult rituals.

Susilawati said two other men were also being sought by the
police in connection with the discovery of the body. -- AFP