Hotli Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh | The Archipelago | Tue, June 01 2010, 11:34 AM
Kamaruzaman was all smiles when he saw an entourage entering the Grand Mosque located in the vicinity of Banda Aceh City Police headquarters.
He was previously worried that his bride-to-be would have a change of heart and cancel their wedding plan Monday.
"Thank God, I'm calm and relieved now," Kamaruzaman told reporters covering the occasion.
Kamaruzaman, a 43-year-old farmer, had to get married at the police station after being arrested for the murder of a man in Aceh Besar regency on May 29.
The bride, 35-year-old Herinawati, is a widow with two children, while Kamaruzaman himself is a widower with a child.
The couple decided to get married after dating briefly. They said they felt they were a match.
However, a few days before the planned marriage, Kamaruzaman was involved in a fight with T.M. Yakub, who was working under him in a farm in Ie Suum village in Aceh Besar regency.
Yakub approached Kamaruzaman when he was sitting in a cafe in the village.
"I pulled out a rencong *dagger* and stabbed him during the fight. But I didn't think the knife would hit a vital organ," said Kamaruzaman.
He immediately surrendered to the police after the incident.
Despite being arrested, he had no plans to push back his wedding plan.
"We have to get married today. It doesn't matter if I'm in jail," said Kamaruzaman.
Guided by a marriage counselor provided by the police, the couple were married in a modest ceremony, witnessed by both sides of the families.
"We have intentionally facilitated their marriage today since it's our responsibility," said Banda Aceh City Police chief Sr. Comr. Armen Syahthay.
He said the police had granted Kamaruzaman's wishes to be married at the police station despite his status as a crime suspect.
The police had also prepared a special room for the newly wed couple to spend the wedding night.
"We gave them the freedom as husband and wife to perform one of the Prophet's deeds," smiled Armen.
The bride, Herinawati, said she did not know what else to say.
"I can only resign my fate to God. If the marriage must be like this, I can only comply," she said.
After the ceremony, Kamaruzaman said he was happy despite being married in jail.
"I feel like a newborn baby," he said.
