BANDAR LAMPUNG (Indonesia) • A newly wed Indonesian couple have been arrested over claims they dined on the genitals of the woman's suspected rapist after her husband allegedly murdered him and cut off his private parts.

The victim's body was found in a burnt-out van after a suspected revenge attack sparked by claims from the new wife that she was raped a week before her wedding on Sumatra island.

The husband, 30-year-old Rudi Efendi, has admitted to murdering the man after discovering his wife was not a virgin on their wedding night in September and being told of the alleged rape, but insists he acted alone.

"I was so outraged," Efendi told reporters after his arrest last month, adding that deciding to eat the victim's genitals was "to cure my heartache".

The police say that after murdering the man, Efendi took home the victim's severed genitals, ordered his 20-year-old wife to cook them, and the pair ate them together.

The victim was a driver whom the wife used to date.

Ms Sulistyaningsih, a local police spokesman who goes by one name, said yesterday: "The case is still under investigation but we strongly suspect that this is a premeditated murder."

The husband is accused of carrying out the murder, while the police believe the wife was an accomplice.

The victim was found dead early last month in a burnt-out van in Tulangbawang district, Lampung province. The police later arrested Efendi and his wife.

Efendi had ordered his wife to contact the victim and set up a meeting, according to police. But when the victim arrived, he found only Efendi, who then allegedly stabbed him to death, cut off his genitals and set the vehicle on fire.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE