Police say man who stabbed wife to death at Denpasar market last week did so out of jealousy

Under Indonesia’s criminal code, Rudianto could face a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment. Photo: Polresta Denpasar
Under Indonesia’s criminal code, Rudianto could face a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment. Photo: Polresta Denpasar

Police said that the man who stabbed his wife to death at Pasar Kreneng in northern Denpasar last week did so out of jealousy. Under Indonesia’s criminal code, he could face a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment. 

“A week before coming to Bali and meeting the victim, the suspect bought a dagger in Surabaya and planned on killing the man that the victim, Halima, was having an affair with,” said Benny Pramono, deputy chief of the Denpasar Police, as quoted in a statement. 

The incident took place on the evening of Oct. 15. The victim, 27-year-old Halima, was stabbed repeatedly in the busy market shortly after she reportedly got into a heated debate with the suspect. Though local residents managed to take her to the local hospital, Halima unfortunately died from her wounds. 

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Rudianto, was reportedly married to Halima through a traditional ceremony, or nikah siri, which is a type of marriage that follows religious norms but is not recognized by the state. 

According to a report from Tribun-Bali, Halima has remarried another man, identified as Sholehudin. 

Benny explained that Rudianto killed Halima after finding out that she has remarried. 

“The reason why the suspect killed the victim was because he was jealous that the victim had remarried again, and that they have not slept in the same bed in the past two months,” Benny said. 

Under Indonesia’s criminal code, Rudianto faces a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for his alleged crime. 



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on