By Jeanette
Tan | Yahoo!
Newsroom – 16 hours ago
UPDATED
The suspected killer of a 16-year-old boy studying in Singapore has
been captured, according to a statement by the Jakarta Metro
Police.
St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) student Christopher
Melky Tanujaya, was stabbed to death while visiting his family in
Jakarta.
The police said the suspect Abdul Jalil, who also
goes by Ayub, was caught at 9pm on Thursday in Penjaringan, North
Jakarta.
The police identified the suspect by using CCTV
camera footage from the crime scene and monitored the victim's
handphone, which the suspect had run away with.
The 24-year-old suspect, who is unemployed, told the
police he wanted to rob the victim's handphone and stabbed him,
when the victim fought back.
After seeing him fall to the ground, Ayub ran and
hid in his rented room in Bakti Street, Penjaringan, North
Jakarta.
He then tried to wash away the blood stains on his
shirt and cut his curly hair.
The suspect is charged with torture and assault,
which carries a sentence of five years in prison. He is also
charged with violent theft, which carries a sentence of 20 years in
prison.
Tanjuya had travelled home for the December holidays
and was stabbed on Monday evening in four places on his neck, chest
and back, police told The Jakarta
Globe, which reported the incident on
Thursday.
Another newspaper, The
Jakarta Post, reported on Wednesday that he was
found near a bus shelter in Pluit, a district of Penjaringan in
north Jakarta, at 7pm local time.
The Globe quoted a local police chief saying that a passerby had
heard the boy’s calls for help but after being taken to the
hospital the student died from his wounds.
Tanujaya had come to Singapore earlier this year on
a Ministry of Education scholarship, after winning a medal in a
national science Olympiad for his school last year, reported
the Globe.
His father, Stefanus Hans Tanujaya, told the
newspaper that Christopher’s death was a great blow to his family
as his son was not a confrontational person.
“He was a good kid, he liked to hang out with his
friends and never got into trouble,” he was quoted as saying by the
Globe. “I never saw him argue with his friends… he liked to
socialise, to play sports. He was just a very down-to-earth
person.”
The Post reported that his mother, Norma Susilowati, said he had no
enemies, and had met up with his fellow Singapore scholars that
day.
In his short academic year at SJI, the secondary 3
student was part of the school’s Vocal Ensemble and Green Club, and
was recognised for his soccer-playing skills and his aptitude in
Mathematics.
A spokesperson for the school
told Yahoo! Singapore that the SJI community “is deeply saddened by the loss of
one of (their) own”, adding that he was a friend who reached out to
help weaker students.
Christopher’s classmates, seniors and peers in and
out of SJI, as well as friends who were staying with him in the
Catholic Junior College hostel, expressed their shock and sadness
at his passing, with many taking to Facebook and posting messages
in tribute to him on his wall.
“We shall celebrate your place in our lives, the
difference you have made, big and small,” wrote university
undergraduate Agung Santoso Ongko, a hostel-mate.
“I’ll definitely remember you forever as a fantastic
soccer player, a genius at math and most importantly a really great
friend,” wrote classmate Pratyay Jaidev.
Choir mate Chan Tian Min also reminisced the times
he shared with Christopher, saying, “It was really heartening to
see you trying your best during every practice to sing that part
well.
“It has come (as) a great shock to (us) to hear the
news this morning. We have really lost a great friend. Rest in
peace Malky. We’ll miss you :’(“
