Woman receives severed hand in mail

JAKARTA (JP): Setiabudi Police detectives were investigating on Monday afternoon a report that a local woman had received a package containing a severed hand.

A police officer who requested anonymity said the severed hand was wearing a plastic glove and was delivered in a package which also contained a stone.

The 72-year-old woman, Semiatih, was quoted by the police as saying the package was delivered to her house on Jl. Setiabudi Barat by an employee of express mail delivery company PT CV Titipan Kilat, better known as Tiki.

"The man who mailed the parcel to the woman told the employee at Tiki's branch office in Bekasi that it contained clothes," the officer said.

As of Monday evening, police were tracing the address of the man who mailed the package.

According to Semiatih, she received the package at about 11:30 a.m. from a Tiki employee named Mardani, who delivered the package in a van belonging to PT CV Titipan Kilat Galaxi, the name of Tiki's office in Bekasi.

On the package, the unidentified sender wrote his name and return address as: "Suawandi, Jl. Pulausiri Timur, Blok AA No. 87, Bekasi Selatan."

The officer said, "We're sure the address and the name of the sender are fake, but we are checking it out anyway."

The detective said the package was mailed from the Tiki branch office on Jl. Kartini in Bekasi.

"The employee there said she did not remember the face of the man who sent the parcel," he said.

The severed hand, which had begun to decompose, was described as large and is believed to belong to a man.

After examining the hand, forensic expert Agung from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said he believed it belonged to a suspected thief, identified as Rudy, alias Hendrik, who police shot and killed last Wednesday.

"The hand fits perfectly with Hendrik's wrist. I just have to check the blood type to make 100 percent sure that it's his," Agung said on Monday evening.

East Jakarta Police officers shot and killed Hendrik, 27, early on Wednesday morning on Jl. Raya Pasar Inpres in Klender, East Jakarta. The suspect resisted arrest, injuring Sgt. Abdul Kadir in the process.

Hendrik died en route to Kramat Jati Police Hospital. His body, which was missing the right hand, was transferred to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's morgue for a postmortem. It is not known how or when Hendrik lost his hand.

According to police records, Hendrik was responsible for at least 15 thefts in East Jakarta.

Hendrik's last reported victim was identified as Sartono, 17, a cigarette vendor who allegedly was robbed by Hendrik at a traffic light near Viaduct park. The victim lost an unspecified amount of money and a motorcycle in the incident.

Setiabudi Police are investigating a possible connection between Hendrik, the unidentified man who mailed the package and Semiatih.

Semiatih's maid, Sarohtun, 26, said she received and opened the package.

Upon seeing the contents of the parcel, Sarohtun began screaming. "I was so scared. I just stared screaming and ran. Who would want to send such a thing to my employer? She is such a kind woman."

Semiatih said she had lived in her house for over 30 years, running a small tailoring business with five employees out of the house.

"Never in my life have I received death threats, or any kind of threat. Why would anybody want to do this," Semiatih asked.

According to local residents, developers want Semiatih to sell her house.

"All her neighbors have sold their houses. She's the only one left," a resident who requested anonymity said. (ylt/06)