Brimob member stabbed to death

DENPASAR, Bali: Second Sgt. I Gusti Ngurah Nyoman Wiratma of the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) was killed in a one-sided brawl with four drunk men in Banjar Telagan hamlet here recently.

Wiratma died in a nearby hospital due to severe chest and back wounds.

Witnesses said 24-year-old Wiratma was stabbed with a pocket knife. It remains unknown why Wiratma, a veteran who had served in East Timor and Ambon, was involved in the fatal spat.

Police have arrested the suspects, identified as Made Suparsa, Komang Surya Atmaja, Ketut Suartawan and Kadek Sudajaya. Their cell room has been guarded tightly after two truck loads of angry Brimob officers demanded to see them.

Wiratma's body was buried in his birth place of Angantaka village, some six kilometers north of here, on Tuesday. In his address, Badung Police chief Lt. Col. D.B.M. Suharya asked the policemen to stay calm because the case was being investigated. (zen/edt)