Two suspects arrested over Pamulang murder

Two suspects arrested over Pamulang murder

JAKARTA (JP): Two children and their pregnant mother were
found murdered in their Bumi Pelita Kencana housing complex
residence on Wednesday in Pondok Cabe, Pamulang.

Suroto found his six-month pregnant wife, Suryatiningsih, 36,
and his 12-year-old daughter, Nurwanti, dead in a wardrobe. He
also discovered his nine-year-old son, Rachmanto, lifeless in a
filled bathtub.

Police arrested two men for the murders later on Wednesday,
city police spokesman Lt. Col. Aritonang said on Thursday.

The two suspects, Soleh, 47, and Sahmud Jusani, 30, were
staying at a house in the victims' neighborhood, he said.

"What sins have I committed to deserve such tragedy falling on
my family. I have no enemies at all," cried Suroto, who had
recently lost his job at state-owned Pelita Air Service in Halim
Perdanakusuma, East Jakarta.

Many residents criticized the way police at the scene handled
the case, saying the detectives carried themselves
unprofessionally.

Suroto was placed under arrest shortly after police came to
the scene, but was released early Thursday.

A local resident said that despite statements from people
living in the neighborhood, the detectives had insisted on
treating Suroto as a suspect.

Both Soleh and Sahmud admitted to the killings, saying they
turned on the victims after being caught red-handed breaking into
a cupboard in the house.

"We didn't plan on killing the victims. We were just forced to
do it," Sahmud said.

Sahmud had been staying at a nearby house, while Soleh, a
resident of Sukabumi in West Java, had been hired to paint the
neighbor's house.

He said they broke into Suroto's house after they had heard
that Suryatiningsih had just received an inheritance of Rp 10
million from her parents in Bandung to help the family since
Suroto had lost his job.

Sahmud denied murdering the victims, saying he had only been a
lookout while Soleh killed the victims one by one.

When Suryatiningsih, who had just arrived home after picking
up her daughter from school, came upon them, he said they
pretended to be borrowing a saw.

Soleh then quickly covered Suryatiningsih's mouth and hit her
head to the floor before stabbing her, Aritonang said.

Nurwanti, who had been in the bathroom, was slashed in the
neck, stomach and chest several times by Sahmud, he said.

Before his arrest, Soleh reportedly said he committed the
murder without worrying about the consequences because he needed
money to remarry.

Aritonang said the two suspects moved their victims to a
wardrobe and then cleaned blood from the floor.

They later killed Rachmanto, a fifth grade student of a state
elementary school near the housing complex, at 1:30 p.m. when he
arrived home from school.

The two suspects were being detained at the South Jakarta
Police Precinct for further investigation.

Following a postmortem examination at Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital, the three bodies were taken to Bandung for
burial at a family cemetery. (jun/rms)