Suspected of strangling his Indonesian girlfriend in Bali, a 26-year-old Singaporean man has been arrested by Indonesian police.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, the incident took place in a rented apartment in Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Indonesian police did not release the suspect’s name, referring to him only as “MZ.”
Denpasar Police Chief Leonardo Simatupang told the media at the scene on the 16th that police arrested the suspect three hours after receiving the report on the night of the 15th.
Leonardo said that investigations showed the suspect entered Bali as a tourist in 2025 (*note: year may be a reporting error*), but overstayed his tourist visa after it expired. Forensic examinations determined the suspect used violence and strangled the victim's neck for 15 minutes.
Local police believe the crime was triggered by emotional disputes between the suspect and the victim. Preliminary investigations showed the suspect and the 26-year-old victim had been in a relationship for about a year. The victim is believed to have been killed last Saturday (the 11th).
It is understood that the suspect rented a room right next to the victim’s. After committing the murder, the suspect invited his new girlfriend, DP, to spend the night in his rented room. DP noticed a strange smell at the time but did not think much of it. Three days later, when DP finally felt something was wrong and asked the suspect about the smell, he suddenly became agitated and questioned why DP was asking.
Chaya said: “DP asked the suspect about the strange odor she had smelled, but the suspect angrily confronted her, saying ‘Why are you asking this?,’ while anxiously pounding on the wall.”
The victim’s younger sister went to the apartment as she could not contact her sister for several days. When she entered her sister’s room, she found her sister’s body covered by a carpet and toys, already clearly decomposed.
At that moment, the suspect in the next room was about to leave. The victim’s sister questioned the suspect, but he refused to answer and tried to flee. The sister hit him with a helmet she was carrying, but the suspect ultimately managed to escape.
Local police tracked the suspect to Sanur, a seaside town on Bali’s southeast coast, soon after receiving the report and arrested him.