Young woman commits suicide

JAKARTA (JP): An 18 year old committed suicide by drinking insecticide in her rented room in Teluk Gong, Pejagalan, in North Jakarta early yesterday.

The woman, identified as Juliana, was believed to be a student at Atma Jaya University.

She was first sent to Atma Jaya Hospital in Pluit, North Jakarta, after being found by one of her friends at 1:15 a.m., a morgue worker of the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital quoted police as saying.

Relatives arrived from Medan and claimed the body from the morgue. They requested that no medical examination be done.

Zulharmas Syamsu, a forensic doctor at the hospital, said the victim was from a well-off family as could be seen from an external examination of the body and its clothes.

"For the haves, such an incident is a disgrace for them, even though police and forensic doctors can help investigate the cause and who might be behind the suicide," he said, commenting on the family's refusal for further examination.

He said there was no sign of physical violence, but the stomach was enlarged.

"Pregnancy was possible and judging from the enlargement of the breasts, the pregnancy was believed to be less than five months," he said.

However, a definite conclusion could only be obtained from an autopsy, he said.

Zulharmas said the woman might have drunk more than a glass of insecticide as could be seen from how fast the body had decomposed.

"It's just a few hours but look at the condition, it's in very bad shape," he said. (04)