Batam rocked by mysterious murders

BATAM, Riau: Mysterious murders are on the increase on the industrial island of Batam, where at least six people have been killed by unidentified assailants since January, local police said on Wednesday.

The killers had since disappeared and were still at large.

Barelang Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhartono said he would continue to work hard to capture the killers. "The problem is that witnesses who have information on the cases refuse to help us in the investigation."

It is not clear whether the murders are linked. The victims include two elementary school-aged girls, a ship's captain and an Indonesian employee working for a Japanese company.

The police's failure to arrest the murderers has been criticized by local legislators and activists.

Deputy speaker of the Batam legislative council Muhammad Nabil said the local police must be able to boost their performance after the administration had allocated police an extra Rp 1 billion. --JP