Six-year old boy murdered in cold blood

Six-year old boy murdered in cold blood

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

"He was our only child. He loved pigeons," Saiful Bahri, 36,
talked on Monday about his son, Rivaldi Bahri or Aldi, six, who
was found dead in the canteen of SMU 16 state high school in
Palmerah, West Jakarta, on Sunday at 9 p.m.

The father found the boy in the fetal position under a canteen
table with blood all over the back of his head, his hands tied
with packaging tape and his mouth stuffed with a piece of cloth.
Saiful also saw two holes in Aldi forehead, that police later
revealed had been made by a large nail.

"His mother could not bear to see the body," he said in tears,
referring to his wife Nurhayati Antu. "She still cannot talk and
has shut herself in the bedroom."

Saiful carried his son to a nearby hospital on his motorcycle.
"I had the feeling that he was still alive. But the doctor at the
hospital said he had already died," he said.

Based on information from neighbors, Palmerah Police summoned
Manto, 16, whose house is located only 50 meters from Aldi's
house, for questioning. An eyewitness told the police that Manto
was seen outside the school building at around 6 p.m.

"The police have told me that Manto admitted to killing my
son. They immediately detained him," Saiful said.

Manto told the police in a written statement that he had asked
Aldi for Rp 2,000 (21.52 U.S. cents). He became angry when Aldi
did not have the money and later brought the boy to a classroom
in the school building.

He tied Aldi's hands with tape, tied his legs with his belt
and stuffed his mouth with a piece of cloth.

"Manto is notorious as a bully. He never drinks or uses drugs
but he often extorts money from children here. Sometimes he
steals goods from shops near his house," Fahrurozi, the community
unit chief, said.

"We were shocked to learn that he could be very cold-blooded.
I saw the crime scene. There was blood everywhere. How could he?
Aldi was a handsome boy," he added.

Neighbors said Manto's parents were so poor that they could
not afford to send their six children to school.

"None of the children completed elementary school," Fahrurozi
said. "Perhaps because he was so poor and uneducated he could be
so cruel."

The homicide on Sunday has made parents in the neighborhood
frantic and extra cautious about their children.

"I have received calls from the neighbors to tell Manto's
family to leave, but I don't think that's necessary," Fahrurozi
said.