Student found dead in Park

JAKARTA (JP): Locals found the body of a senior high school student early Monday morning at Vinus Park in Kemayoran area, Central Jakarta.

The body of Wisnu Herdianto, 18, was found lying on a bench in the park, with his mouth full of foam and his eyes wide open.

A relative said Wisnu left his residence in the DKI Housing Complex in Sunter Jaya, North Jakarta Sunday evening.

"He told me that he would visit his friend, but did not mention the address," said Wisnu's uncle Yudi, a man in his 30s.

Wisnu, a student at SMU 5 Senior High School in Sumur Batu area, lived at his uncle's house in Sunter Jaya, since his parents live in Bekasi, some 35 kilometers east of Jakarta.

Yudi said he called Wisnu on his cellphone at 10.00 p.m. Sunday, to check his nephew's whereabouts.

"I started to worry when I found that his cell phone was not active. He did not have a habit to leave home late at night," he told reporters at the morgue of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

After learning that Wisnu did not return home Sunday night, Yudi ordered his servant, Yanto, to look for Wisnu on Monday morning.

A telephone booth keeper near the park told Yanto that she found a teenager dead on a park bench.

"The description of the teenager was similar to Wisnu," Yudi said, adding that the keeper also advised that Wisnu's corpse had been sent to the morgue.

Separately, chief of the Kemayoran Police subprecinct Ass. Supt. Sudjono said that the victim apparently died of a drug overdose.

He said that police had on several occasions found people dead of drugs overdose in the park, which is located on Jl. Berlian in Sumur Batu area.

Yudi suspected that Wisnu had been enticed by his friends to consume the drugs.

"His cellphone was stolen. He was a good boy and it was not likely that he consumed drugs," Yudi added.

However, Sudjono said he doubted Yudi's allegations.

"We'll check the truth of the family's statement. To confirm such allegations there must be strong evidence," he said. (asa)