Decapitated couple found in K. Kapuas

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: Kuala Kapuas residents on Friday were in shock after finding the mutilated and beheaded bodies of a Madurese couple.

Kapuas police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Maltha said residents were in fear after the decapitated body and heads of Turi'in, 35, and his wife Surah, 30, were found at different locations.

The two bodies were found early on Thursday while their heads were found some 15 kilometers away later in the evening.

"We found the bodies matched the heads and identified the couple as Turi'in and Surah," Maltha told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The couple had fled to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, after ethnic violence erupted between local Dayaks and Madurese settlers earlier this year.

They returned to Kuala Kapuas on Monday to check on their paddy fields and house.

"We're having trouble investigating the case because most people are refusing to give information to us," Maltha said, while warning that the incident could have been intended to create further ethnic tension.(32)