Gang leader says Basri's murder nothing more than criminal act<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
John Kei, an alleged gang leader, said on Wednesday his
\n\"brothers\" were not motivated by racial or ethnic hatred in
\nmurdering gang leader Basri Sangaji.<\/p>\n
\"The eight arrested suspects are all my brothers, they lived
\nin my house. What they did was purely a criminal act,\" he said.<\/p>\n
John invited the media to a gathering to break the fast at the
\nArcici Sports Club in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. He issued
\nthe invitations through the police, a week after his eight
\n\"brothers\" were arrested for Basri's murder.<\/p>\n
The eight suspects, who were arrested at John's house in
\nBekasi, have reportedly admitted to police that they killed Basri
\nand wounded Basri's brothers, Jamal and Ali, at the Kebayoran Inn
\nHotel in South Jakarta on Oct. 12.<\/p>\n
John Kei, whose real name is John Refra, 35, said his
\n\"brothers\", most of whom come from his hometown in the Kei
\nIslands, southeast Maluku, held a longtime grudge against Basri.<\/p>\n
\"In 1998, Basri led a gang that attacked a house in Kayumanis,
\nEast Jakarta, which killed Nus Ulukianan, the brother of one of
\nthe suspects,\" he said, adding that the police had dropped their
\ninvestigation into the case.<\/p>\n
John said the eight suspects spotted Basri while they were
\nhaving drinks at the hotel, where the victim and his brothers
\nwere staying.<\/p>\n
\"The old grudge rose up and they decided to kill Basri ...
\n(but) I did not know anything about that until after the police
\nquestioned me the following day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said his organization, the Kei Young Generation (AmKei),
\nheld the breaking of the fast gathering to help improve the
\nrelationship between different religious and ethnic groups.<\/p>\n
\"It is an annual event. Amkei is a pluralistic organization.
\nDuring Ramadhan we break the fast together, and we also celebrate
\nChristmas,\" he said.<\/p>",
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