Man falls to his death at hotel in Mangga Dua

JAKARTA (JP): An unidentified man fell to his death Friday night from the 15th floor of the Ibis Mangga Dua hotel and apartment complex at Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta, Central Jakarta, police said Saturday.

The actual circumstances of his death are still unclear. Police said they are trying to determine if the man, believed to be in his 40s, committed suicide or was the victim of foul play.

He landed on the concrete patio of the sixth floor swimming pool at the 26-story apartment.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the man's body was found by Murgono, an employee who was cleaning the pool.

"The body was found on the swimming pool roof along with a broken bedside table at about 8:45 p.m. But the hotel management only reported the incident to the police at 10 p.m."

No ID or documents were found on the man's person or in his room. His facial features, light complexion and the fact he was uncircumcised led police to believe he was probably of Chinese descent.

The hotel's on-duty manager, Vivi, told The Jakarta Post yesterday: "We're very sure that the victim was not one of the hotel's guests or an occupant of one of the apartments."

The forensic doctor at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital who performed the autopsy on the body said the man appeared to have been tortured prior to his death.

Dr. Zulhasmar Syamsu said that apart from severe head injuries, the man's left arm, right ankle, ribs and both his wrists were also fractured. Bruises were also found on his left eye and cheek.

"If one falls headfirst, it would be the skull and the upper arms which were fractured. But this victim's injury pattern was unusual. It is possible he was tortured first and thrown out of the occupant."

Zulhasmar said the postmortem examination could not determine the time of his death or whether he was dead prior to hitting the roof area.

A police officer from Sawah Besar police subprecinct, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the cause of the man's death was still under investigation.

"We have two assumptions. He might have been thrown out of the window, or he might have committed suicide," he said.

He said the man was in apartment 1525, and a search had revealed there were probably several occupants.

"We found four packs of rice on one of the tables. The room was messy and there was a broken chair. The window pane from where the victim fell was broken. We also found a club," he said.

He said the window, which was of thick framed glass, may have been broken with the chair or table that was found near the body.

He said dozens of people, including two security officers identified as Edi and Mugono, were taken to the Central Jakarta police precinct for questioning.

"Mugono saw the body fall out of the window and strike the platform. He came closer and was shocked to see the body of a man. He was trembling with horror which made it difficult for him to call other security officers."

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told media the police had another eyewitness to the incident, Pvt. Tanjung of the Jakarta Military Police. But he refused to give a statement to the police. (edt/ivy)