Two wanted for murder of maid

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Police detectives are combing the streets of a city outside Jakarta in search of two men suspected of murdering a 60-year-old woman who was found dead on Tuesday morning at her workplace.

West Jakarta Police deputy chief Maj. Syafril Nursal said on Wednesday that the two men were strongly suspected of killing Minah, who worked as a maid in Kelapa Dua Villa housing complex in Kebon Jeruk. He refused to say in which city the suspects were being sought.

"We are sure those two are the killers. They were very well acquainted with a local resident who lives in the vicinity of the Kelapa Dua Villa complex," Syafril told The Jakarta Post.

"The motive smells of revenge, but we cannot be sure until the killers are caught."

The woman's decomposing corpse was found on Tuesday morning at her workplace. A table cloth had been stuffed in her mouth, her hands tied with shoelaces and her feet bound with a shawl.

Her forehead had a deep cut, apparently caused by a machete, and her left hand was badly bruised.

The entire house was found in a shambles, but apparently nothing was missing from the house, Syafril said.

The suspects had rearranged the furniture and several other things in the house, but about Rp 400,000 housekeeping money and petty cash in a drawer in the master bedroom was untouched.

"So was Minah's gold bangle. Nothing was taken."

The family who own the house -- Widaryanto, a private contractor, his wife Jonah and their two sons -- had been in Yogyakarta since Dec. 23, but immediately returned to Jakarta upon hearing about the murder.

Syafril said Widaryanto had tried calling his home on Monday but nobody answered the phone.

"So he called up his neighbor Hantoyo and asked him to check if everything was alright. Hantoyo approached the house, and found the gate unlocked. He contacted the head of the neighborhood community and a security guard and told them to enter the house with him," Syafril said.

"The three entered, and found everything in a shambles. Then, from the strong stench alone, they found Minah, lying lifeless on the living room sofa. We guess she must have died sometime on Monday, the 27th." (ylt)