Police hunt for two over woman's murder

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police detectives are searching for two men in connection with the murder of an old woman, whose body featured at least 12 stab wounds and was found lifeless in front of the Kapuk residential complex in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, on Tuesday morning.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang identified the woman as Megawati Purnomo, 67, a city resident living on Jl. Irian in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

"This seems like a robbery-murder case, but we are still investigating. We must get hold of Megawati's driver, Saputra, 25, and her helper, Susanto, 15, who are both missing, along with the victim's Nissan Terrano blue van," Mathius told reporters at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.

Mathius said that the van's registration number was B 2232 B.

"We can't say for sure whether this is a definite robbery- murder case because of the stab wounds. If it was just a van robbery, why stab someone repeatedly in the head, neck and back?"

At the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, forensic doctors found at least eight large stab wounds on the victim's back, two on her head and two on the neck. The victim's entire body was marked with bruises.

Mathius said that according to what Megawati's son, Benyamin Suhendro, had told the police, his mother had gone to visit his ailing father, Bambang Suhendro, 70, at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, at about 7:30 p.m. and then returned home at about 9 p.m. on Monday.

"She came home, ate her dinner, and was suddenly gone again. She took the car at about 10 p.m. on Monday, along with the helper and driver, and nobody knows where she went. Her son tried contacting her on the cellphone, but she couldn't be reached," Mathius said.

"At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, while we were questioning her son who thought she was lost or had been kidnapped, Cengkareng Police found her lifeless body in Kapuk. Her corpse was immediately brought to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for a postmortem examination."

Bambang was seen with his two children, including Benyamin, shedding tears over the victim's corpse at the hospital. The family took the body home at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. (ylt/01)