Assault case nearly solved

DILI, East Timor: Police here said yesterday they were optimistic they would soon uncover the motive for Sunday's attack on a journalist.

Local police chief Col. Yusuf Mucharam said police optimism is based on testimonies from witnesses that they saw two of the eight men arrested by the police attacking Gaudensius Mau, a journalist with Tiras magazine.

He said six other men arrested were released due to lack of evidence. Yusuf said the police had yet to determine the motive behind the assault, but insisted the assault on the journalist was a criminal case, not a political one.

Gaudensius, 30, was beaten up last Sunday evening by eight men who called him an intelligence officer. The police are still hunting for the other six men. (33/08)