Authorities hunt for cult members

Authorities hunt for cult members

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Authorities are attempting to track down members of a religious cult, Islam Sejati, or "True Islam", who are believed to have fled to Irian Jaya to escape prosecution, an official said yesterday.

Islam Sejati had scores of members in the Banyumas regency until, after 38 of its members disappeared, the local authorities became aware of the group's activities and banned it.

A spokesman for the Banyumas socio-political affairs department, Herry Winantio Mamanus, said that one of the missing cult members had sent a money order to her family in Banyumas from a place in Irian Jaya.

The cult teaches, among other things, that its members need to study the Koran but do not necessarily have to practice its teachings because they can redeem their sins by paying Rp 250,000 (US$110) to the group's leader.

Herry said the authorities would check on the whereabouts of some of the cult's members with the Irian Jayan government, Antara reported. (pan)