Bekasi woman arrested for murdering maid

Bekasi Police have arrested a woman for murdering her live-in housemaid by starving her to death after repeatedly abusing her, an officer said Tuesday.

Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Heri Wibowo told The Jakarta Post the police had sufficient crime-scene evidence and witness testimonies to arrest Sri Tin Suhartini, 31.

“Her neighbors told us they’d seen her abuse the maid, and her husband told us the same thing,” he said.

“Even her children testified against her.”

Suhartini, a resident of the Taman Sentosa housing complex in West Cikarang, Bekasi, was questioned Monday at the Bekasi Police headquarters after her husband, Natalis Andreas, called a hospital to report the death of the maid, 39-year-old Hapsari, that same day.

The paramedics who arrived at the house concluded Hapsari had died of unnatural causes, noting her extremely malnourished body and the numerous burn marks and other physical wounds all over her body.

The paramedics reported their findings to the police, who followed through with an autopsy. It was later found Hapsari had apparently been burned repeatedly with lit cigarettes and a hot iron.

“Her spleen and liver were also found to have ruptured before her death, which is evidence that she had been repeatedly beaten around the torso,” Heri said.

Hapsari had been employed from a Bekasi-based live-in housemaid agency, and was promised a monthly wage of Rp 500,000 (US$53).

Heri said the police would need Suhartini’s confession, citing the already mounting evidence and testimonies against her.

He said the Bekasi Police were currently awaiting the results of Suhartini’s psychological examination, which was administered Tuesday.

“If she’s declared mentally disabled, then we may lose the case against her; but if it’s just because she was emotional and easily angered, then there’s just no excuse for this kind of treatment,” he said.