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A 25-year-old woman in Medan, Indonesia, has been arrested on suspicion of hiring thugs to murder her friend over a dispute of S$170.

The police said the woman, Jihan, is currently six months pregnant and knew the victim from a previous workplace, detikSumut reported.

If convicted, she may face up to 12 years in prison.

Owes S$170

According to detikSumut, Jihan had loaned her friend, 35-year-old Haricapri Sihombing, RP2 million (S$170) so he could bail his cousin out of jail.

"He had initially said you can bail someone out for RP3 million (S$260). But I said I only have RP2 million (S$170)," Jihan said.

Haricapri promised he would return the money if he was unable to bail his cousin out of jail. Some time passed, but Jihan saw neither a sign of his cousin nor gotten her money back.

She then contacted her own cousin, supposedly for some payback.

"So I reached out to my cousin, Doni. He was the one who gathered a few people to find my friend," said Jihan, speaking to the media.

Victim hit by a wooden beam, suffered head injury and died

Haricapri was assaulted by five thugs on Dec. 25, 2022, detikSumut reported.

He was assaulted at three different locations. The thugs contacted his family at the second location to blackmail them into returning the money.

"If the money was not returned, then the victim will be hit," the Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Medan Police, Kompol Teuku Fathir Mustafa said.

His family transferred RP1 million (S$87) to Jihan, but the assault did not stop and Haricapri was brought to the third location.

Local residents who witnessed the beating reported it to the police. Haricapri was found with a serious head injury by police who arrived at the third location of his assault.

"The victim was hit on the head by a wooden beam," Mustafa said.

Haricapri was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injury three days later on Dec. 28 2022. His skull "ruptured", leading to death.

A video of the assault captured by CCTV was uploaded and circulated on social media.

Face up to 12 years in prison

Three suspects have been arrested in relation to the case, with Jihan named as the suspected mastermind of the assault.

They are charged under a Criminal Code for openly committing violence in a group resulting in death and may face up to 12 years in prison.

The police are still looking for three other perpetrators.

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Top image via Ari Spada/Unsplash.