Mutilation victim to be buried in his hometown

JAKARTA (JP): Police finally gave permission on Friday to the family of a murdered man to take his dismembered body out of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and bury it in their hometown of Klaten, Central Java.

"We have collected enough data from the deceased and it's better if the body is buried properly by its family," city police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said, adding that a permit had been issued by city police detective chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo.

Police and family members of the deceased have all confirmed that the dismembered body, parts of which were found in two separate locations in western Jakarta on Monday, were 33-year-old Sumarsana, who was a quality control supervisor at PT Lion Star.

Samples of hair, nails, flesh and blood were earlier taken from the body and will be kept for investigation.

Sources at the police detectives unit have said three men, identified as Teng In, Agus and Mulyawan, had been "secured" for intensive questioning as the three were reportedly very close friends of Sumarsana.

Another man, identified as Irvan was also scheduled for intensive questioning. Irvan was a coworker of Sumarsana's at the plastic household producer company.

Agus and Mulyawan are also employed by PT Lion Star.

No further details on the four were available as both Alex and Noegroho were careful in their choice of words when asked to disclose the progress made by their detectives in investigating the case.

Noegroho said the police had so far questioned 15 people close to Sumarsana, including the victim's girlfriend Sri Lestari Setyawati.

"We're questioning witnesses, it's true but we haven't yet named any suspects," he said.

Separately, Alex said, "We're still collecting alternatives to decide the most likely motives behind the murder."

He said that as of late Thursday, 19 people had been questioned as witnesses.

When asked whether the three close friends of Sumarsana were included in the 19, Alex refused to answer.

A reliable source said the police had checked a beeper belonging to one of the three men to see whether there were any messages from Sumarsana.

"It was to see if there was a quarrel or a worsening relationship between them (Sumarsana and the friend) and to see how the relationship was between the victim and the man," the source said.

The latest man apprehended, Irvan, was picked up by police following the finding of recent messages on Sumarsana's beeper and cellular phones, believed to have been sent by Irvan.

"They are not being detained, they are just not allowed to go home as we have not finished questioning them," the source said.

He said police detectives were concentrating on the four men's alibis and their latest meeting with the victim.(emf)