Woman found dead in sack

JAKARTA (JP): An unidentified woman was found dead inside a jute sack which had been dumped at a garbage site on Jl. T.B. Simatupang in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta, Saturday.

An assistant to forensic doctors at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Bambang HP, said yesterday that the cause of death was still a mystery.

But a postmortem examination will be conducted soon, he said.

Bambang quoted the forensic doctors as saying that the woman had been dead for two days before her body was found.

"How she was killed is still unknown but some bruises on her neck, torso and legs are indeed signs of violence," he said.

"But we couldn't immediately attribute the bruises as the cause of death because they may have occurred after the body was forced into the sack."

According to Bambang, the woman's body had already begun decomposing which had made it difficult to identify her.

Based on a preliminary examination, doctors estimate that the victim was less than 20 years old due to the absence of wisdom teeth, Bambang said.

Her stomach was enlarged but there were no visible signs of pregnancy, he said.

A police report said that a garbage cleaner, Ngadiman, 65, found the sack at 7:25 a.m. while he was picking up junk. He reported his discovery to the Tanjung Barat Police subprecinct.

Police rushed to the scene and the body was later transported to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

First Lt. Wisnu Adji P, who sent the body to the Cipto morgue, confirmed the finding and said that police had found a handwritten letter believed to be from the victim's boyfriend.

He, however, declined to reveal the content of the letter.

"The letter may merely be an attempt to distract police attention," he said. "So we view it as evidence but not as a clue."

He said police were still waiting for the postmortem report from the hospital to assist them in their investigation. (04)