Woman murders boys, tries to kill herself

JAKARTA (JP): Police investigating the slashing of two infant boys by their mother, who then turned the knife on herself, said yesterday economic hardships and marital disharmony apparently triggered the tragedy.

Sofiah, 25, attempted suicide by slitting her own throat, after cutting the veins in the necks and wrists of her sons Frans Syahriza Yusuf, 17 days old, and Rifan Fahroji Yusuf, 12 months, over the weekend.

"Our initial conclusion is based on the testimony from the witnesses we have questioned so far," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The tragedy took place on Saturday morning at Sofiah's parents' two-story house in Central Jakarta, while her husband, Rasmin, 29, was at work nearby.

Police reports say that Rasmin discovered his unconscious wife and the lifeless bodies of his sons after breaking in through an upstairs window at the insistence of his mother-in-law, Ismiagen.

During police questioning, Ismiagen said that she heard the children screaming, which caused her to go upstairs and ask Sofiah to bring them down for breakfast.

Sofiah told her mother that they would come down in no time.

After waiting several minutes, Ismiagen went upstairs again. She got no response to her call and found that the room was locked from the inside.

Panicked, she asked her son Yanto to call Rasmin home to check on what might have happened.

Failing to get into by the door of the room, Rasmin broke in through the window and found his children dead and his wife almost lifeless.

Sofiah was rushed to the Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, where she remains under intensive care.

Bambang said Sofiah could face 15 years in prison if she survives. "She could face longer if there is evidence she planned the murder," he said.

Police found a message believed to have been scrawled on the wall of the room by Sofiah. In it Rasmin was asked to forgive her because she and their two sons were planning "to go far away".

The message read, "It seems that Abang has another woman. And, Abang has not given me money over the past two days. Your sons and your ugly wife want to go far away. Have a new life, Abang".

Rasmin, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, told the police that he was confused about the message.

"If it's all my fault, why she did she have to kill the boys? She should have killed me," he said.

Relatives of the couple who were married one-and-a-half years ago said Rasmin had not been able to work as an ojek driver over the past three days because his motorcycle had broken down.

One of the relatives also said the couple had quarreled recently. (bsr)