Old diamond trader murdered in her house

JAKARTA (JP): An 80-year-old diamond trader was found dead in a pool of blood in her bedroom at her two-story Duren Tiga home in Pancoran, South Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

It remains unclear whether a robbery also took place but police and relatives believe that Sinta Ema Sibarani, who lived together with four grandchildren and one maid, was murdered by someone or a group of people who were close to her.

According to Sibarani's daughter, M. Tampubolon, the body of the elderly woman was found by her granddaughter Meggie.

Tampubolon quoted Meggie as saying that neither the grandchildren nor the housemaid heard any unusual noises before finding Sibarani's body, which was covered in stab wounds.

"We suspect that the killers must have known my mother very well because the front door of the house was not damaged at all," she told reporters at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

She said that Sibarani lived with three of her grandchildren -- Meggie, Lusi and Marshal -- and a young housemaid known as Zainab, after her husband, Napitupulu, died in 1992.

Tampubolon said that the robbers killed Sibarani in her bedroom where she kept her diamonds worth hundreds of millions of rupiah.

She also said that her mother had not received any threats in the last few years.

Tampubolon later recalled that her mother had just fired one of her drivers, Heri, 25, shortly before her death.

"Heri got married without informing my mother and disappeared for days. When he wanted to return, my mother had already got a new driver," she said.

On Wednesday afternoon South Jakarta detectives were still combing the victim's house for evidence to identify the culprits.

A police source said that they suspected close associates who were familiar with Sibarani and her activities.

One of Sibarani's children believed to be the key witness to the incident had been questioned intensively at the South Jakarta police precinct, the source said.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang confirmed the murder.

"It might have been committed by people close to the victim because it's strange that no one in the house said they heard any screams before the body was found," he said.

Officers were, however, basing their investigation on the presumption of innocence, Aritonang added. (ivy/emf)