Murder suspects not helping probe

JAKARTA (JP): City police detectives admitted over the weekend they have made no significant progress following further questioning of two suspects believed to be involved in the murder of entertainment businessman Nyo Beng Seng.

"So far, we have not gotten any valuable information from either of them," a police officer close to the investigation told The Jakarta Post Saturday evening.

Although police have not been able to get information from the two suspects as to who the ring leader and accomplices are, or a motive for the murder, questioning would not be stopped, said the officer, who asked for anonymity.

"The two are still detained at our office for further questioning and investigation," he said.

The two suspects, identified as Sudartono, 40, and Agiono, 36, were arrested by two plain-clothes detectives just after disembarking from a Singapore flight at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Thursday evening.

Police arrested them on suspicion of drug possession.

So far, the two suspects have only admitted that they were hired by someone to guard the site of the planned murder in order to facilitate the plan of the murder.

Police strongly believe the main plotter of the murder, along with two accomplices are staying overseas.

Beng Seng, alias Darmansyah Suyadi, 57, was savagely stabbed to death 12 times in the middle of the night on April 15 this year in front of his second wife's house on Jl. Pluit Kencana Raya 128 in North Jakarta.

According to the victim's driver, Saman, 45, the key witness of the killing, the murder was committed by at least four masked men armed with Samurai weapons.

Newly-installed city police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko refused to officially comment about the case.

"I've tried, but failed, to contact all officers at the Crime Investigation Directorate for official statements about the case," he said.

The decision of the two detained suspects to keep silent could hamper police's hard work in solving the brutal killing soon.(bsr)