Mother of two commits suicide

JAKARTA (JP): A mother of two hanged herself from a door lintel in the bedroom of her North Jakarta house, police said yesterday.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the body of the 31-year-old woman, Rohani, was found about 8 p.m. Sunday by her husband and mother.

"Why on earth she decided to kill herself is still a mystery. But, apparently, it had something to do with the family's financial problems."

The housewife was found dead about an hour after she left a nearby mosque where she and her husband -- whose identity has not been released by police -- were performing Tarawih (the Ramadhan evening prayer), the officer said.

"According to her husband, Rohani approached him at the mosque and asked for their house key because she intended to go home before the prayer finished."

During police questioning, her husband allegedly admitted that his wife's mood had changed over the last three weeks.

"He said she often looked depressed and it seemed as though there was something bothering her. But he could not tell whether the problem was really related to the family's financial state," Aritonang said.

The man said Rohani did not seem irritated when their two children asked for three months worth of school fees in advance, he said. (cst)