Burglar lynched in Bali

Burglar lynched in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: An angry mob lynched to death a suspected
burglar and severely wounded another in the resort island of Bali
after they broke into the house of an Italian citizen, Audrito
Valentine.

A third burglar, however, managed to escape the mob of
residents in Denpasar's western outskirts area of Kerobokan.

The incident took place on Tuesday night after the three
criminals were spotted by security guards at Villa Surga that
housed Valentine's home.

The security personnel later alerted surrounding neighbors,
who only captured two of the crook and immediately dragged them
to the street to beat and kick them.

When policemen arrived at the scene, one of the burglars had
already died, while the other one was in critical condition with
blood flowing out from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

Kuta Police chief Adj. Comr. M. Anwar said on Wednesday his
personnel were identifying the criminals. --JP

West Java cheap rice for the poor frauded

BANDUNG: The distribution of cheap rice for the poor in West Java
has allegedly been leaked by local officials, causing around Rp
5.9 billion in losses to the provincial administration,
legislators say.

"We receive a report from people that they have each gotten
less than 20 kilograms of cheap rice as promised," Yomanius
Untung, a member of the West Java legislative council, said on
Wednesday.

He said the council later verified the report and found that
the weight of cheap rice sold for Rp 1,000 per kilogram to the
poor decreased by two percent per sack containing 20 kilograms.

The number of low-income people entitled to the cheap rice
from the West Java Logistics Agency (Dolog) hit 1.1 million
families.

If calculated with the number, the leakage steaming from the
decrease in the weight of rice could worth around Rp 5.9 billion
from January through May, Untung said. --JP

Unsud hosts int'l seminar on English

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The Jendral Sudirman University (Unsud)
based in Purwokerto, Central Java, is hosting a five-day
international seminar on English language.

The seminar, organized by Unsud's Student English Forum (SEF)
and titled 'Indonesian Education: A present for Tomorrow',
started on Tuesday and will conclude on June 1.

Participants were from 55 universities, including five foreign
colleges from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines,
Brunei and Malaysia.

SEF Chairman Irawan said the speakers featured in the seminar
included Suwarsih Madya of the National Education Reform
Committee, Stephen Hill of Unesco, Sudharmadi of the National
Education Ministry and senior legislator Taufikurrahman Saleh.

"The seminar is aimed for self-introspection over the
development of English language in Indonesia as an international
language," Irawan said. --JP

N. Sumatra governor to form watchdog

MEDAN, North Sumatra: North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin was
planning to set up a honorary council to supervise the attitude
of local high-ranking civil servants.

The new body will accommodate reports from community members
who complain about the "morality and attitude" of second echelon
officials in the province, Rizal said.

The plan, however. drew mixed reactions on Wednesday from
members of the province's legislative council.

Rijal Sirait, a senior local legislator, said the move would
be an attempt by the provincial administration to conceal its
inactiveness in improving the moral credibility and integrity of
local officials.

It would only waste time, energy and money, he said, adding
that the governor should carry on the task of supervising local
civil servants.

However, another legislator Robinson Sitepu said such a
honorary council is fine as long as its existence would not
recruit more officials and nor cost more funds. --JP