Police awaiting postmortem result in burning case

Police awaiting postmortem result in burning case

JAKARTA (JP): Tanah Abang police are still awaiting the
postmortem and forensic examination reports on a woman who died
from severe burns Sunday to decide whether a crime was committed.

"There's no significant progress, thus far," the police
subprecinct chief Capt. R. Sigit TH told The Jakarta Post
yesterday.

According to Sigit, his office has just handed over a charred
stove found at the scene of incident to the National Police
Forensic Laboratory for examination.

"We need to know whether the stove exploded or was burned,"
Sigit said. He is expecting the results within days.

The victim, Nora Arista, 22, who was unemployed, died at Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital after being treated for nine days
in the intensive care unit.

Her boyfriend, Udin alias Raymond, 37, told the hospital staff
the woman was his wife and was burned after a gasoline stove in
their house in Karet Tengsin, Central Jakarta, exploded while she
was trying to switch it on.

Raymond, who police have said is an ex-convict, took the
remains and, accompanied by his family, buried Nora's body on the
same day at the Karet public cemetery.

He informed none of Nora's relatives about her death, one of
them said.

Her father, Alen Syahrial, 55, said he did not learn his
daughter had passed away until five days later.

Following Nora's death, her suspicious brother Ismed, who
claimed he saw bruises on his sister's body at the hospital,
reported what he considered was foul play to the Tanah Abang
police.

"Besides the burns, I saw bruises on her body, indicating that
she had been beaten," he told reporters Thursday.

Ismed also told the police that a friend of his younger
brother witnessed Nora being tortured by Raymond in a narrow
alley near their house at about midnight on the evening of June
5.

Based on Ismed's report, the Tanah Abang police then detained
Raymond for questioning and, with the permission of the victim's
family, exhumed Nora's remains on Thursday to undertake a
thorough postmortem.

During police questioning, Raymond admitted he had beaten Nora
but denied burning her to death, officer Sigit said.

In the late hours of June 5, he was waiting for Nora on his RX
King motorcycle in the alley near the house he had been asked to
temporarily occupy, Raymond told the police.

"When she appeared, I told her to return home but she asked me
not to disturb her and let her go about her own business," he
said.

When Nora kept on walking, Raymond bumped his motorcycle into
her leg, pulled her hair and hit her in the face.

An eyewitness, who testified under the condition of anonymity,
told the police that he saw Raymond pull Nora into their house
before taking the woman to the hospital.

That night, Nora was rushed to the Mintohardjo marine hospital
before being transferred to Cipto on account of the seriousness
of her injuries.

According to officer Sigit, the police also seized Raymond's
motorcycle and a bedsheet as evidence.

Police records reveal that Raymond was released from the
notorious prison on Nusa Kambangan Island, Central Java, in
January after serving 12 years for murder.

Staffer Bambang H.P. of the Cipto forensic department said
Thursday that the victim suffered severe burn injuries over
almost all of her body.

However, no bruises were found as her flesh had already
started to decompose.

"We are still waiting for the final laboratory examination
results to discover the cause of her death," he said. (ivy)