Kupang man hung up on dog

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): A 60-year-old man, Ngongo Bani, hanged himself here last week shortly after his wife told her she had forgotten to feed his dog for a whole day.

Bani's wife Margaretha Ngada told the police yesterday she was horrified to find her husband swinging from the ceiling on a rope used to tie up the goat.

She said that on his arrival from the paddy field in the evening on Saturday, her husband lost his temper and slapped her when she told him she forgot to feed the dog.

Startled, she hurled abusive words at Bani-- something which is traditionally taboo for Sumba women.

"He killed himself maybe because he loved the dog too much, or he was just too ashamed that I called him names," the tearful Margaretha told police investigators.

In Sumba culture, wives are not allowed to criticize, let alone abuse their husbands. Wives are supposed to be blindly loyal to their husbands. (yac/pan)