Fri, 01 Apr 1994

JP/3/POLICE2/0

Police urge Levina killer to surrender

JAKARTA (JP): Remaining baffled after one week of investigation, the police are now focusing on the hope that the killer of Levina Dwisy, who was found dead at Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta last Friday, will turn himself in.

The head of the Pademangan police sub-precinct, Maj. I Ketut Sunartha, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that he believes the perpetrator of the murder will prefer surrender to being continuously haunted by guilt.

"It is better for the killer to give up to the police than hide because we will treat him or her according to law, not use force to seek admissions," said Sunartha, whose territory includes Ancol.

Levina, the second of three children of an ethnic Chinese bicycle shop owner, left her house on Jl. Pantai Sanur in the idyllic Ancol Timur development on Thursday morning.

Wearing her pajamas, the little girl tried to join her parents on their morning exercise with her bike. It was the last time she was seen alive. Her body was found under the bushes near a temple the next morning.

Her attacker had obviously used her clothes to strangle her, and her bicycle was discovered nearby.

Police, paying special attention to this case, have set up five teams to capture the killer of the six-year-old girl.

Earlier, another police officer claimed that the police are optimistic that they could solve the murder case in no time as they have obtained more information regarding the tragic death of the girl.

The officer had expected to catch the culprit before Thursday, but no arrest had been made as the deadline passed.

To the police, the problem is quite difficult since the site of the murder is isolated. People seldom walk around there because it is a blind alley.

Only nearby residents and local fishermen are usually seen strolling near to the house of the victim.

Maj. Sunartha also said that so far police have not questioned the mother of the victim as she is still depressed by the tragic loss of her daughter. "We want to question the mother but we should not push her too far. She's heavily shocked."(09)