Young girl dies from overdose

JAKARTA (JP): A 16-year-old girl died in her rented house on early Wednesday morning possibly due to an overdose of putaw, a low-grade heroin.

Fatimah Oktavia, popularly known as Ria, was found lying on the floor of her room at about 4 a.m. with yellow liquid oozing from her mouth, said Leggi, one of the victim's friends.

Ria was a resident of Pamulang Permai in South Jakarta and had lived with friends after her parents divorced, she said.

According to Leggi, Ria and a few friends went to a birthday party at a house in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, on Tuesday evening.

"I don't know what happened after that because I went home to Bekasi before the party was over."

She admitted to having seen Ria take some drugs during the party, saying she never realized it was heroin.

Police officers reportedly found putaw powder scattered about in Ria's room. Results of a postmortem examination at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital also indicated traces of the drug in the victim's urine and blood.

Ria's father, Mahmud Yahya, declined to comment on his daughter's death upon arriving from Bogor.

A close relative who declined to be named said Ria had become uncontrollable after she entered high school.

"She quit school her first year and then started frequenting discotheques and malls in the day," she said.

Police are currently detaining four of Ria's friends -- Yance, Indri, Rully and Sandy -- for further questioning since they were allegedly under the influence of drugs when the officers arrived at Ria's house. (emf)