Police to question woman over stabbing of HK man

Police to question woman over stabbing of HK man

JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives are scheduled to question a
woman in connection with a brutal attack on a Chinese man from
Hong Kong, who suffered 19 stab wounds in the back and stomach.

Jakarta Police detectives chief for violent crimes Comr.
Sinaga identified the victim as Lai Ho Yen, 45, and said that the
police were scheduled to summon a local woman, identified only as
Wiwi, over the stabbing.

"Wiwi is allegedly a very close friend of Lai Ho Yen. We have
yet to question her, but we are planning to. Lai himself is in a
critical condition," Sinaga told reporters on Thursday morning
after a visit to the intensive care unit of the Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta, where
Lai is being treated.

Barely alive, Lai was found with his mouth gagged and in
handcuffs on Wednesday night, by two security guards, M. Nasir
and Agustiar, at the hydrothermal power station in North Jakarta.

The guards, Sinaga said, had the good sense to rush Lai to a
hospital. As of 4 p.m. on Thursday, Lai was still receiving
treatment at RSCM where doctors stated that his chances of
survival were very slim.

"We believe Lai was stabbed somewhere in the Lokasari
entertainment complex in Tamansari, West Jakarta, before he was
dumped outside the power plant office in North Jakarta by his
attacker, who obviously tried to murder him," Sinaga told
reporters.

Lai is registered as a resident of Jl. Kartini in Central
Jakarta.

"It's a wonder that he is still alive."

Separately, an official from the Chinese Embassy, Yang Pei
Tung, confirmed on Thursday that Lai was Chinese.

"Yes, he's definitely Chinese. He has visited the Chinese
Embassy a few times and I remember his face very well. His Hong
Kong driver's license number is H-110222," Yang told The Jakarta
Post over the phone.

Yang met Lai's wife at the general hospital, who told him that
Lai was supposed to return to Hong Kong on Dec. 30 last year.

"Mr. Lai's wife, Liu Fie Kim, said that Mr. Lai had arrived in
Jakarta on Dec. 28 last year and was supposed to return to Hong
Kong on Dec. 30, when suddenly he received a telephone call from
a friend. We do not know who this friend was," Yang said.

He added that Mr Lai's "friend" had asked to meet him on Jan.
3 at the Quality Hotel.

Hotels belonging to this chain are located at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport and at Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta No. 70 in
Central Jakarta. The latter address is very close to the crime
scene at the Lokasari entertainment complex in West Jakarta.

The mystery, Yang said, started here.

"First, he told Mme. Liu that the meeting was in room no. 501
of the hotel. The meeting was suddenly shifted to room no. 907,
and then to room no. 805. This was strange. Mme. Liu lost contact
with her husband after 1 a.m. on Thursday," Yang said.

"From what I saw of Mr. Lai, the 'friend' who called him must
have had some dispute with him. Lai... he's been hurt very
badly." (ylt)