Mon, 10 Jan 2000

Man's body found at construction site

JAKARTA (JP): A man in his 30s was found dead at a restricted construction site in the Senen area, Central Jakarta, on Sunday morning.

Local police said they were in the dark about the identity of the man and the cause of his death.

Chief of the Senen Police subprecinct, Maj. Pratikno, told reporters that the body of the man was found lying face downward in the muddy excavation soil of a parking lot's building site next to the Plaza Atrium shopping center.

"There is no sign of assault on the victim's body. But we have sent the body to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital for a postmortem examination," Pratikno said.

Preliminary examinations at the hospital revealed that the decaying body had been at the site more than 24 hours before it was found.

The victim was about 1.7 meters tall, well built, had a dark complexion and short curly hair. He was wearing a brown batik shirt, black corduroy pants and dark blue sports shoes.

According to officer Pratikno, the abandoned site had been used as a hangout for drunks over the last two years.

"Witnesses told police that ethnic groups who used to hang around the shopping center usually went to the site to get drunk," Pratikno said.

He speculated it was likely that the man was drunk and fell into the excavated site, which is around seven meters deep, where he urinated, as his fly was open when police found him. (01)