'Black magic' killings in Madura

SURABAYA: The killings of people accused of having black magic powers may not be what they seem, according to Brawijaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto.

As quoted by Antara on Friday, he said the cited reasons for the murders of people possessing such powers were "only excuses" and that the real motives would likely be personal reasons.

A number of people have been killed in the Sampang and Pamekasan regencies on Madura island east of Surabaya.

The most recent case was before dawn on Thursday when Samongan, a resident of Gunung Maddah village in Sampang, was killed by several unidentified people. His house and the corpse were then burnt.

The cases have led local religious leaders to issue a religious ruling (fatwa) that "killing people on the basis of having black magic is a great sin."

The commander charged paid killers were behind the murders.

"The killers end up with a lot of money," said Djoko, who comes from Pamekasan.

"Having black magic cannot be proved," he said, regretting that people had taken the law into their own hands based on unsubstantiated information.