Guilt of suspected killed questioned after confession

Guilt of suspected killed questioned after confession

JAKARTA (JP): Following a questioning session, police raised
doubts yesterday about the confession made by a man who was
arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in the killing of a
senior officer in East Jakarta last week.

The man, Baskoni Wahab, admitted to killing Maj. Noenang Kohar
with a knife.

"We are not all that sure that he's the killer," said head of
the Pulogadung police, Maj. Soekiman, who was assigned to lead
the investigation of the killing of Maj. Noenang. The officer was
stabbed to death by a passenger of a bajaj (small three-wheeled
transport vehicle) following a heated argument after a slight
crash between the bajaj and the Daihatsu Taft jeep driven by
Noenang. Noenang was wearing civilian clothes at the time of the
incident.

According to Soekiman, police interrogators who have
questioned a number of witnesses besides Baskoni since his arrest
on Tuesday morning, have found something which has led the police
to believe that the teacher might not be the murderer.

"He might say that he's the murderer, but his confessions
should be proved and matched with available evidence and
information given by witnesses," Soekiman said.

The officer, however, refused to give further details pending
the completion of the investigation.

Maj. Noenang, 38, the newly-appointed head of the Pademangan
police, was fatally stabbed on Jl. Wisma Jaya, East Jakarta, on
his way home from his office at approximately 7:00 p.m. last
Friday.

Baskoni, in his 50s and a senior teacher and manager of the
Kagumi economics educational foundation in Cakung, East Jakarta,
was arrested four days later at approximately 7:30 a.m. Tuesday
as he was alighting from a public transport vehicle in front of
his office on Jl. Kayu Tinggi.

Police earlier said that Baskoni was planning to leave the
city yesterday with a total of Rp 9 million (US$3,850) in cash in
his pocket.

Police officers claim that the murder had been a spontaneous
act.

Following the arrest of Baskoni, the police dismissed the
special team of 70 detectives assigned to hunt the suspect.

The "reluctance" of police to make a formal statement
regrading the case has sparked speculation that Baskoni is just a
scapegoat--someone who has been assigned to protect the real
suspect of his own free will.

Earlier local media reports presumed that the suspect was a
member of the Armed Forces who had already been taken into
custody and questioned secretly by the authorities.

Married with three children, Noenang had just quit his former
position as the head of the drugs unit at the city police
headquarters. (bsr)