Boy gets 7 years for inciting riot

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: The Pontianak district court sentenced on Thursday a teenage boy to seven years in jail for inciting clashes between Madurese refugees and local people in Pontianak, a report stated.

Fauzi, a 16-year-old boy, was found guilty of inciting the clashes between June 23 and 25 this year, according to the panel of judges.

The ethnic clashes claimed four lives, with dozens of others injured. The incidents also resulted in the Pontianak badminton hall, sheltering 120 refugees, being burned down.

The clashes erupted after the seizure of Madurese refugee Busrah's family belongings by the Dayak local Fauzi, who was assisted by his friends Sani, Rahmudin and Syamsul.

During the seizure, Busrah's son Fery, 6, was killed, thereby inflaming the already tense relationship between the two community's within the town.

The refugees are Madurese migrants who have fled ethnic clashes in Sambas since 1999. They were temporarily accommodated in public facilities, such as sport halls, stadiums and a Haj dormitory in Pontianak.

The provincial administration tried to persuade the refugees to move to housing complexes specially built for them in relocation areas, but many refused to do so. (46/09)