Young man arrested over murder of Bogor student

JAKARTA (JP): The Bogor Police yesterday arrested a 20-year old man as the mystery surrounding the murder of a female student at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) began to unfold.

The chief of the Bogor police, Lt. Col. Nono Supriono, said Sofyan bin Atang, an unemployed man who lives in the victims neighborhood, was arrested in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, in connection with last week's murder.

Wida Rakhmawati, 22, a third-year student of aquiculture, was found stabbed at her boarding house. She was found in the room of a friend who had gone to Jakarta for the day.

Based on Sofyan's confession, Wida was the victim of a crime that had been intended for her friend, Ari.

Sofyan, according to the police, said he had intended to break into Ari's room, initially to steal money but then when he saw a woman, whom he thought was Ari, he decided to rape her.

"I thought it was Ari, the girl I have been in love with for some time," he reportedly told his interrogators.

Sofyan said that when he entered the room, Wida was awake and looked set to call for help. He then went to the kitchen to get a knife and then stabbed her several times.

Although there were no signs that Wida had been raped, Sofyan's confession attested to the fact that her underwear had been torn.

It was Ari who found the body lying in the room with a knife in one-hand and two stab wounds to the chest and throat. The keys to Ari's room were found by police in the bathroom tub.

Owned by Imam Santoso, who resides in Jakarta, the eight-room house is located just a few hundred meters from the IPB campus in Dermaga, about seven-kilometers from Bogor.

At the time of the murder only the deceased and Ari were renting rooms at the house.

First Lt. Arifin Noor of the Ciomas district police told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the police are still waiting for the results of the autopsy.

He said Wida's body has now been taken to Surabaya, East Java, by a family member.

It is still not known whether her parents, who are performing the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, have been informed.

The daughter of Widodo Tjokrowirjono, head clerk at a sugar factory in Probolinggo, East Java, Wida is the third of seven children.

Arifin explained that a number of the deceased's friends have been called in for questioning.

Reputation

She had a reputation as a hard working student with above average grades, enabling her to enter IPB under a program for outstanding students.

Wida's murder has shocked the IPB campus and caused a wave of fear among many of the female students.

"Many are now afraid to sleep alone at night," Erna, a fourth- year IPB student who lives in a rented room a kilometer from the crime scene told Pos Kota.

The climate of fear is a far cry from the usually serene atmosphere at one of Indonesia's most distinguished schools.

IPB, which was originally established as a part of the University of Indonesia's agriculture faculty, separated into an independent institute 30 years ago.

Commenting on the surrounding environment, local residents told The Post that despite the occasional disturbance, the area is relatively safe.

A major cause of concern in the surrounding area might well be the close proximity of a bus stop.

Asep Sryana, a local resident, said that the town seemed a little grimier because of the stop, but that it is nothing to be concerned about.

"You can't say that this is an unsafe area," he said.

What incidents that occur here are mainly because of competition among transport drivers and not criminal acts, Asep claimed. (prs/mds)