Officer stabbed to death

JAKARTA (JP): An army officer was killed by a mob in the basement of the three-star Sentral Hotel on Jl. Pramuka Raya, Central Jakarta, early yesterday, after he collected a woman from the hotel's discotheque, police said.

Central Jakarta police chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told reporters that the attack on First Sgt. Moh. Irsal Rumalian, 28, may have been premeditated.

"Apparently the gang waited for the victim for quite some time before the stabbing," Iman said.

He said that the taxi in which Irsal, from Ambon, and his companion were traveling was blocked by four cars as it passed the hotel entrance.

Ten men emerged from the cars and attacked Irsal.

"Irsal told the gang that he was a member of the Army, but they ignored him," he said.

Iman said that Irsal fled, but was cornered by his attackers in the hotel basement.

Seven witnesses to the crime are being questioned by police, including Irsal's female companion, who has been identified as both his wife and his girlfriend. The issue of the couple's marital status has yet to be clarified.

"The woman claimed to be a close friend of Irsal's," Iman said. But according to Sumedhi, the general affairs and human resources manager in the hotel, the woman was Irsal's wife and had been in the hotel's discotheque that night.

Irsal's body was taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for a postmortem examination and was claimed by his family immediately after the autopsy.

Noni, Irsal's foster sister, said that her brother was married and had a newly-born child.

"His son was born two weeks ago. Irsal called me Monday morning, asking me to name his newborn," she said, crying over Irsal's body. (09/cst)