Child killer hunted

PADANG, West Sumatra: Police are mounting a manhunt for the suspected killer of two small girls in Tanah Garam village, Lubuk Sikarah district in Solok, Antara reported yesterday.

Solok Police Chief Lt. Col. Suhardi Sigit said a number of teams had traveled to towns such as Bukittinggi, Pekanbaru, Palembang and Medan to trace the suspect, identified only as 20- year-old Ks.

The badly mutilated bodies of Rini Farametha, a six-year-old girl, and her five-year-old sister Riza Rilis Septiawati were found in a bedroom Tuesday by their teacher mother when she returned home from work. There was no sign of sexual molestation.

The girls' younger brother, Rian, 3, was spared and found asleep in another room. The suspect was a servant at the house. (swe)