Japanese woman murdered in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: A 46-year-old Japanese woman identified as Hiroko Ooe was found dead lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor of her house in Batubulan, some 15 kilometers east of here, on Sunday morning.

Her servant, Nengeh Sariani, 26, was found in the adjacent bathroom. She was unconscious and had been severely beaten up. She is now in intensive care at Sanglah Hospital.

Bali Police spokeswoman Comr. Andi Arwita said the estimated time of death was 3 a.m. on Sunday.

First Insp. Puji Hendro Wibowo the Sukawati Police sub- precinct chief which over sees Batubulan village, said Hiroko's body was found by her driver and a fellow Japanese colleague.

"The deceased was supposed to accompany Nakamura (Hiroko's business colleague) for office business. And when she did not show up Nakamura and Hiroko's driver went inside the house to look for her," Puji said.

According to Puji an autopsy is currently being performed on Hiroko's body at Sanglah Hospital.

There was no word on the condition of Nengeh so far. Puji said "she is our sole witness in this case so we will do everything we can to save her life."

Hiroko was an employee of export-import company PT Kana Bali International and had lived in Bali for about five years.

Puji would not speculate on the motive of the murder.

"It would be too premature to at this point to conclude whether it was caused by robbery or a personal vendetta," he remarked.

The Vice Consul of the Japanese Consulate in Denpasar said that the deceased's family in Yamagata prefecture in Honshu Island, Japan, had been informed of the death. (zen)