Indonesian arrested over duct tape murder

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JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian police on Tuesday arrested a construction worker suspected of suffocating a Japanese-born woman because he was “annoyed” at being scolded over his work on renovations at her home.

Toni Hidayat, 39, suffocated 67-year-old Setsuko Itawa with duct tape at her Jakarta home on Sunday, East Jakarta police chief Saidal Mursalin told reporters.

He said Hidayat was beaten in the face and tied up before being dragged to the bathroom and suffocated with duct tape plastered over her mouth and nose.

“She was weak but conscious (after the beating) and then he decided to kill her by plastering duct tape over her nose and mouth,” Mursalin said.

“He hanged her from the bathroom shower and then took her mobile phone and bank card before escaping,” he added.

He said Hidayat was doing renovation work on the victim’s house.

“He told us he had murdered the victim because he was annoyed at being scolded by her many times for no apparent reason,” Mursalin said.

The Japanese embassy in Jakarta where Itawa worked part-time at the consular section said she had given up her Japanese citizenship after marrying an Indonesian. The embassy said it did not know when she had changed her nationality.