Man suspected of slaying his wife

Man suspected of slaying his wife

JAKARTA (JP): Police believe a woman, who had her neck
slashed Saturday at her house on Jl. Bojong Utama IV in the
Narogong Indah housing complex, East Bekasi, was killed by her
husband.

Head of the Bekasi Police precinct Let. Col. (Pol) Adjie
Rustam said yesterday a kitchen knife had been used to inflict
the 10-centimeter neck wound.

The victim, identified as Christina Dwinanda Mardi, 32, is
believed to have died instantly.

Adjie said Christina's husband, identified only as AP, 33, had
officially been named a suspect after he turned himself over to
police Saturday.

The couple were both employees of the Ministry of Finance, and
their only son, Yoga, 2, is under the temporary care of the
Bekasi Islamic Center.

"To date we don't have any clear answers about the motive for
the killing because the suspect is still in a distraught state,"
Adjie said, adding that AP was being treated at Kramat Jati
Hospital in East Jakarta.

The victim's neighbors said they only found out about the
killing when police arrived at the house.

One of the neighbors, Hendrawan, said the victim's husband had
just returned after six months in Aceh, where he was on an
official assignment.

"The couple seemed to get along well. I'm surprised that he
(the husband) could do such a cruel thing," he said.

After a postmortem examination at Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital, the body was taken to Surabaya by the woman's relatives
for burial on Saturday afternoon.

In a separate incident, three junior high school students
drowned Saturday in Angke River, West Jakarta, while attempting
to avoid a street fight between students of SMP 205 and another
junior high school.

The victims -- Parhanuddin, Eko Yudi and Arifin -- were found
by local residents and their friends, who spent 30 minutes
searching the river for the three students after they jumped in.

"None of them were involved in the brawl. We deeply regret
this," Chief of West Jakarta Police precinct Let. Col. Timur
Pradopo was quoted by Pos Kota as saying.

Timur said that even though the three students were not killed
in the brawl, the police would thoroughly investigate the
confrontation.

About 26 students were rounded up for questioning.

Relatives and friends attended the three students' funeral at
a nearby public cemetery in Semanan, West Jakarta, yesterday.
(edt/09)