Singaporean murdered in Lombok

A SINGAPOREAN engineer was stabbed to death in his home in Lombok, Indonesia, on Saturday night.

An Indonesian man has been arrested over the killing.

The Singaporean, Ahmad Suri, 52, was a deputy manager of an Indonesian engineering firm and had been working in Mataram city on Lombok island for two years, said his younger son, Mr Abdul Rahim Ahmad, 27.

The father-of-two was found dead in his terrace house on Saturday after his neighbours heard shouts coming from the home.

"(Neighbours) ran over and saw the suspect holding a knife outside my father's house. He didn't try to run, so they took the knife and held him down," said Mr Rahim, who was told what happened by his father's neighbours.

Mr Ahmad was rushed to the hospital in a taxi but died on the way. He had been stabbed seven times in the head, neck and chest.

Indonesian police said the suspect is a 30-year-old transmission tower climber called Suparto.

Mataram police's head of criminal investigation, Agus Dwi Ananta, told The Straits Times the murder was not premeditated.

"The suspect usually walks alone after work, with his work tools, including a knife and other accessories," he said, adding that police were interviewing five witnesses and waiting for the results of a post-mortem.

It is unclear what sparked the attack, but the Indonesian Kompas news daily said Suparto was supposedly visiting his wife and child, who were living in the same house as Mr Ahmad.

Suparto allegedly quarrelled with his wife, and Mr Ahmad tried to break up the fight when it got violent, the paper said. But Mr Rahim, a process technician, said this was not true.

"In his house, he (lived with) another two more colleagues but they were not at home at the time (of the attack). (Neighbours said) my father was alone," he said.

Together with nine other relatives, Mr Rahim flew to Lombok on Sunday morning to identify and claim his father's body, after being notified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The body was brought back to Singapore and buried on Monday.

"My father is a very kind person, we can't believe this has happened to him," said Mr Rahim, adding that his mother was reeling from the loss.

Even his father's neighbours were equally shocked at the brutal attack.

"They said he was very well-liked in the estate," said Mr Rahim. "When he would go to the mosque for prayers, he would always ask the kids in the neighbourhood to come with him."

He remembers the last time he met his father - in September last year when he got married.

"He gave me some advice, about married life. He was a good family man, who inspired all of us," said Mr Rahim.

dansonc@sph.com.sg Additional reporting by Amir Hussain

This article was first published on Jan 29, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.