Young man arrested over murder of Bogor student
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)