Eight arrested over Basri's murder

Eight arrested over Basri's murder

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The investigation into the murder of notorious gang leader Basri
Sangaji led to the arrest of eight men on Thursday, who were
suspected of involvement in the bloody attack at a hotel room on
Tuesday.

"All the arrested suspects admitted they were involved in the
assault of Basri Sangaji and his relatives," Jakarta Police
detectives chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said.

The suspects, whose names have been withheld by the police,
were arrested at a house in Bekasi at about 3:30 a.m.

The police seized from the eight, among others items, a .32
caliber gun loaded with rubber bullets, a dagger and four 90-
centimeter machetes used in the attack, Salempang added.

"The detained suspects said that they took the gun from
Basri," Salempang said.

He said that investigators had reported that there had only
been eight attackers, not 15 as previously stated by the police.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the eight arrived at
Kebayoran Inn Hotel, South Jakarta, in a Panther minivan and an
Escudo jeep. Heavily armed, the men barged into room 301 where
Basri and his relatives, Ali and Jamal, were sleeping.

Basri died with several gashes and a gunshot wound to his
body, while Ali and Jamal are now hospitalized for severe
injuries from sharp weapons.

The police found two 9-millimeter bullet cases in the room.

Salempang said that the police had not determined the motive
behind the murder.

He also refused to say whether the detained suspects belonged
to a another well-known gang.

"However, one thing is for sure, they do not belong to the
group that Hercules leads. We have questioned Hercules, and we
are sure he had nothing to do with the attack," he said.

In May 2002, Basri had been named a suspect for allegedly
shooting Hercules in a "territorial dispute" in South Jakarta.

Police detained Basri for several days, but later released him
and the case was closed.