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.