Man killed in duel with stepfather

JAKARTA (JP): A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death by his stepfather in a bloody duel sparked by the victim's disagreement with his mother's decision to marry a man who is one year younger than him.

Fuad died on the way to the Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital from stab wounds to his entire body as a result of the duel with Har, 26, which took place in Johar baru sub-district, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, Pos Kota reported.

Har also sustained stab wounds which were not so serious, police said.

Fuad's mother, Rukiah, 46, said his son had strongly objected to her marrying Har, and the two men had often argued fiercely prior to Thursday's fight. Har has been unemployed since he married Rukiah in 1989.

The daily said, quoting several neighbors of the couple, that Har is a habitual drunkard. "Almost every night he came home intoxicated and he often beat his wife whenever he got plastered," one neighbor said.

Fuad, Rukiah's second son from her first marriage with F. Rimba, seemed to have borne a strong grudge against Har as he had often challenged his stepfather to fights.

His pent-up indignation appeared to have come to a head on Thursday when he went to his grandmother's house on Jl. Tanah Tinggi and found Har there.

Following a brief row, the two men went upstairs to continue their argument, with both reportedly armed with knives.

Nobody was aware of the fight on the second floor of the two- story house, not even Fuad's grandmother, police said.

"This was apparently because a noisy blacksmith and welding workshop operates next to the house," a police officer said.

He said only after Har screamed very loudly did Har's grandmother and several neighbors realize that a fight was taking place. (bas)