Police announce new identity of mutilated body
JAKARTA (JP): Based on a detailed description given by family members, city police on Wednesday identified a mutilated body discovered earlier this week as Sumarsana, 33, an employee of plastic household manufacturer PT Lion Star in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.
The motive for the murder and mutilation remains unknown due to a lack of leads, according to the police.
Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said his office had made the preliminary identification based on physical details provided by Sumarsana's relatives.
"But we don't want to speculate about the case. If family members can prove that they see marks on the mutilated body which are identical to marks on their relative's body, we'll build the case so we can go after the murderer as soon as possible," Noegroho announced.
Police originally believed the mutilated body was a man identified as Sugantio, a food vendor and resident of Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta. However, upon hearing the reports on Wednesday, Sugantio returned to his home and let relatives know that he was still alive.
"We checked Sugantio's house. He's alive," Jakarta Police detective chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said.
The head of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's forensics department, Budi Sampurna, said, if necessary, he and his staff could carry out a DNA test to positively identify the body as Sumarsana.
According to Budi, if any of Sumarsana's relatives had a sample of his fingerprints, it would provide authorities the quickest way to establish the identity of the victim.
Police did not disclose whether they already had a sample of Sumarsana's fingerprints they could match with fingerprints obtained from the corpse.
However, Hartini, one of Samarsana's two sisters living in Jakarta, said her brother's fingerprints matched those of the corpse.
Decent person
Hartini and Sri Yanti, Sumarsana's other sister, are convinced the corpse is that of their missing brother, the fourth of six children. The siblings parents currently reside in Klaten, Central Java.
The sisters displayed a photo of Sumarsana, which matched the face of the corpse.
"Sumarsana was known to his family and friends as a kind and decent person," Hartini said.
She said Sumarsana left Klaten for Jakarta in 1985 and graduated from the Institute of Teachers Training and Education Sciences (IKIP) several years later.
Sumarsana rented a room at a boarding house on Jl. Dr. Susilo in Grogol, West Jakarta, and had worked at Lion Star since 1996, she said.
"I saw him for the last time on Friday," Hartini said.
The women were attempting to gain permission to bring the body of their brother back home to Klaten for burial.
However, police refused to grant them permission, saying the corpse was the only evidence they had at the moment.
"At this time, the deceased is our only clue to lead us to the murderer," Noegroho said.
The two-star general said the mutilated body could be buried only after police collected data for their investigation.
Police detectives are already tracing any information about Sumarsana in a number of areas across the capital. Police have been questioning Sumarsana's girlfriend Sri Lestari Setyawati since early Wednesday.
Sumarsana told his sisters he planned to marry Sri Lestari, better-known as Wati, after Idul Fitri, which falls in January next year. The sisters, however, were never introduced to the woman.
Wati, a resident of Tebet, South Jakarta, is a teacher at state-run junior high school SMP 01 in Tangerang. She also studies at IKIP Muhammadiyah Jakarta.
Imam, 48, Wati's brother-in-law, said Wati had known Sumarsana for six months.
"Sumarsana's family planned to come here to get to know our family before the two young people got married," he said, adding that the marriage was scheduled to be held in September this year.
Wati was hysterical when police showed her a photo of the corpse's head, Imam said.
Separately, Rasyidi, 55, the owner of the boarding house where Sumarsana stayed, said he saw the victim for the last time on Sunday morning.
"It was around 10 a.m or 11 a.m. He went out with a young woman named Titik and never came back to his room," Rasyidi said.
He said Sumarsana rarely talked to the other people in the boarding house.
"He used to go to his job in Kapuk at 7 a.m. and come back at 6 p.m., going to his room to listen to the radio or watch TV," he said.
Rasyidi said an employee from PT Lion Star called him on Tuesday morning and asked why Sumarsana had not showed up for work on Monday and Tuesday.(asa/04/emf)