Police in Indonesia have arrested a man whom they believe murdered his four young children and later tried to kill himself.

The bodies of the children – aged one to six years old – were discovered on Dec 6 on a single bed inside their rented home in the Jagakarsa district in South Jakarta city, according to Jakarta Globe.

Investigators found a note that read: “Puas Bunda (satisfied mom), tx for all.”

Superintendent Bintoro, head of the criminal investigation unit of South Jakarta Police, said the children’s father was found naked inside a toilet with self-inflicted wounds and a knife in his hand.

“The suspect, who is the father of the victims, had made a suicide attempt and is currently receiving medical treatment at the hospital,” said Supt Bintoro.

The Jakarta Globe reported that the suspect assaulted his wife – the children’s mother – on Dec 2.

The beating was so violent that the woman had to be taken to a hospital, leaving her children alone with their father.

“The wife had bruises on her forehead and vomited blood,” Ms Titin Rohmah, a neighbour, told the Jakarta Globe.

Another neighbour recalled having seen the suspect carrying one of his children on Dec 3.

South Jakarta Police Chief Ade Ary Syam Indradi said the suspect was taken in for questioning after he assaulted his wife on Dec 2.

But he was released later as he insisted there was no one else to take care of his children.