A Buleleng man in his early 40s could face a lifetime in prison after he allegedly killed his pregnant wife following an argument, during which the latter was accused of adultery.
The 41-year-old suspect, identified by his initials PA, married the victim, LS, 40, in 2007, according to Buleleng Police’s spokesman Gede Sumarjaya in a statement published today. The couple, who was said to have fought often, already had two children together.
Sumarjaya explained that, at around 4:30pm on Oct. 27, the couple argued again after PA accused LS of adultery. The victim, who was seven months pregnant at the time, did not want to continue the argument and decided to go to bed.
PA, who was still enraged, strangled LS in her sleep.
“Based on the results of our investigation, the suspect committed the crime out of jealousy toward the victim,” he said.
After strangling her, PA hit the victim’s face three times with a rice pounder before slashing her throat with a sickle. The fetus the victim was carrying did not survive the attack.
LA’s parents immediately alerted the neighbors after they found out what PA did to their daughter. The neighbors then called the authorities, quickly leading to PA’s arrest. Under Indonesian law, PA may face either 20 years behind bars or a maximum penalty of lifetime imprisonment for murder.
