Two wanted for murder of maid

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)