AGO to resume murder probe

JAKARTA: The Attorney General's Office announced on Wednesday that it would resume its investigation into the killing of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes in East Timor in 1999.

Spokesman Barman Zahir said that human rights ad hoc prosecutors would soon collect the necessary information after his office received the results of an investigation carried out by Dutch police Col. G.W.C. Thiry.

Thiry said on Wednesday that the conclusion of his investigation differed with that of the Indonesian side.

Nevertheless, he hoped that a joint probe "would help in getting new evidence, to get an even better picture (of the case)".

Thoenes, a Jakarta-based writer for London's Financial Times, was found dead in Dili on Sept. 22, one day after he was attacked by six gunmen in military-like uniforms while passing the militia hot spot of Becora on the back of a motorcycle taxi.

Indonesian investigators had said that they lacked strong evidence to pursue the case. --JP