Post mortem will likely shed light on Ida's death
Post mortem will likely shed light on Ida's death
JAKARTA (JP): The Cipto Mangukusumo general hospital will hand over the post mortem on Ida Rezeki, the 32-year-old housewife who was found dead hanging on a rope in her house two months ago, to the police tomorrow.
"The only thing we need at the moment is the post mortem issued by the hospital which is expected to help reveal whether she committed suicide or was tortured to death by someone before being hung on the plastic rope," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. A. Latief Rabar told reporters here over the weekend.
According to Latief, all suspects, including Ida's husband, Harry Fardiman, 32, and their ex-housemaid, Ina, 18, might be questioned again if necessary.
"The post mortem will determine whether or not we need to re- open the case," he said.
Ida, a secretary at the privately-owned Bank Niaga, was found dead by her husband at around 1 p.m. on April 30 at the couple's house at PN Timah housing complex Number 61 in Cilandak, South Jakarta.
At least six red bruises were found on the top of her breast with a few others, blue in color, on her hands. A small wound was also found on her upper breast.
Ida was not on duty as usual on that fateful Saturday, while her husband has claimed that he was at his office on that day.
A month later, after questioning at least 11 people, including Harry, police concluded that Ida had committed suicide.
Little Ida
On Friday, relatives of the deceased said they rejected the police's conclusion. After speaking with scores of neighbors and making on-the-spot observations, they believed that "Little Ida" may have been tortured to death before being hung on the rope.
Ida was the sixth of eight children.
Ida's relatives, including her father, Mohamad Isa, 73, a former accountant, and her brother-in-law, Arrizal Boer, who works at a law firm, questioned the clumsy work of the police and asked them to question more people, including the couple's housemaid, and investigate more intensively before drawing a conclusion.
"How could they draw such a conclusion when they have not received a post mortem from the hospital?" Boer asked.
Ida worked at the Information System Group of the Bank Niaga headquarters and Harry was a staffer of PT DwiTunggal Inti Perkasa, a building contracting firm. He had taken a two-week leave after the death of his wife and then resigned from the firm.
The couple had no children to show for their three-year marriage.
Housemaid
Their housemaid, called Ina, was hired by the couple last year. On March 8, the servant took a leave in order to spend the Idul Fitri holidays in Probolinggo, Central Java.
When she returned, Ida refused to re-hire her because she had stolen several valuable items from the house.
Ida also suspected her husband of having a love affair with the servant. She told one of her sisters that she had found his photo in the servant's room.
Harry just laughed when Ida confronted him about the photos.
According to information the police received from Harry's parents, Ina is now in East Java.
However, Ida's relatives believe she is working for a family in Kemang, South Jakarta.
"Wherever the servant is, we'll do our best to get her for questioning if necessary," spokesman Latief said.
Based on a tentative investigation, he said, several neighbors reported seeing Ida at the house at around 6:30 a.m. on the day she died. About one-and-a-half hours later, they saw her husband leave the house.
At 9 a.m., Ida had a telephone conversation with her mother.
One of her younger sisters said that one hour later she tried to telephone her but got no answer.
Harry arrived home from work at about 12:30 p.m. and found the door locked. When his spare key failed to open it, he drove to Ida's parents home to ask for another key. However, he still couldn't open the door.
Later, he said he broke the window and entered the house. After calling her name several times, Harry found Ida hanging near the kitchen. He then quickly informed his father-in-law and the police. (bsr)