Minister Tells Women To Take Lessons From Holly's Case

Pekanbaru, Riau, Oct 18 (Antara) - Minister for Women`s Empowerment and Child Protection, Linda Gumelar, has advised women in the country to take lessons from the murder of Holly Angela Hayu. "Women must be smart. We must be self-reliant. Any decision we make has consequences," she told Antara after lectures to women legislative candidates here on Friday. Women must not agree to an unregistered marriage under the system of "siri", which allows men to take a second wife, the minister stated. Although the system of "siri" is considered legitimate by religion, it does not have any legal backing, she explained. "You must not be easily fooled by men," she advised women. The police have arrested former Chief Auditor of the State Audit Board, Gator Supiartono, as a suspect in the murder of Holly Angela at the Kalibata City Apartment in Jakarta on September 30. Gatot`s lawyer had admitted that Gatot and Holly were husband and wife, and they were married based on an Islamic system locally known as "siri". As per information in the case, Gatot allegedly got Holly killed because she kept asking him to divorce his first wife. Police have also named five other suspects in the case for their role in Holly`s murder. One of them, Elrinski, died while trying to escape from Holly`s ninth-floor apartment. Two of them have been caught, while two others are still at large. One of the five suspects, Surya Hakim, allegedly hired Holly`s executors. One of the executors has been identified as Abdul Latief. Surya Hakim confessed he knew Gatot Supiartono because he often drove the car rented by Gatot. It was later known that Surya Hakim received Rp250 million for killing Holly.