Police, parents baffled by young woman's killing

JAKARTA (JP): Tuesday's murder of 24-year-old Santi Sofarina, a student at the Muhammadiyah University, remains a mystery to both her parents and local police.

While police only could say the investigation was ongoing, Santi's father, Sugeng Suwito, denied any possible political motives behind her killing. Santi played an active role in the Justice Party.

"Even if (it was proved later) there was a political motive behind her murder, it should not be revealed for the sake of social unity," Sugeng, a retired employee of state timber firm PT Inhutani, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday at the family's home in the Inhutani housing complex on Jl. Juanda (also known as Jl. Ciputat Raya) in Ciputat, South Jakarta.

He also believes the murder of his daughter, whose body was found on Tuesday morning near her house in Desa Cipayung, was not masterminded by anybody.

"Most probably she was killed by passersby in the nearby area who had just come back from a trip to Sawangan or Bogor," Sugeng added.

"The killing just looks like it happened with no motive behind it," he added.

Local police said earlier that Santi's body -- still in her Muslim dress -- was found by one of her neighbors, Abdul Azis, at 5 a.m.

According to her relatives, Santi left her house shortly after performing her predawn prayer. She then went to Al Hikmah Mosque in Mampang Prapatan for a class on memorizing Koranic verses.

Santi is believed to have been killed before arriving at the mosque, one of her relatives said on Tuesday.

Officers believe the murder took place only a few hours before the body was discovered.

The only injuries on the victim's body were a number of bruises around her neck. Judging from the marks, police suspect Santi was choked to death by her killers.

A day after Santi's body was found, the Justice Party held a press conference to urge the police to solve the case as soon as possible for the sake of law enforcement in the country and to avoid possible unrest.

"This case should be solved quickly without regard to the background of the victim to avoid confusion about the facts of the case, which could be used by provocateurs," said Anis Matta, the party's secretary-general.

He quoted medical sources as saying that Santi had been strangled. Scratch marks were found on Santi's right thumb, he added.

According to her father, Santi rarely took public transportation to Al Hikmah Mosque.

"She used to go there in our family car. But that morning she let her mother use the car to deliver food," Sugeng said.

He also denied that a man whose advances Santi had rejected could have been responsible for the murder.

"Santi had no boyfriend yet," said Sugeng, adding that her life was spent in community and religion activities.

Sugeng also rejected the possibility she was killed by men hanging around the housing complex after visiting nearby entertainment spots.

"Those places close at 2 a.m. and no men hang around after that time," he said, adding that Santi's murder might have taken place at around 5 a.m.

However, Sugeng admitted two youths came to his house on Monday evening last week and three other men dropped by at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

"The first two youths came here to ask for donations," he said. The three other men were on-duty security guards at the housing complex, he added.

"My daughter did not know any of them," Sugeng said. (01)