Gunshot wound found on Alcino's body

DILI (JP): Police forensic experts found yesterday a gunshot wound and a small object believed to be a bullet in the body of Alcino da Costa, a man killed Friday in a brawl in Baucau.

East Timor Police Chief Col. Yusuf Mucharam also said the younger brother of a member of the Baucau military district command had not been stabbed.

"The object is now being examined at the National Police forensic laboratory in Jakarta," Yusuf told The Jakarta Post at the Mahkota Timor Hotel in Dili.

Alcino, 29, was killed when a fierce brawl erupted among youths at a Golkar-sponsored concert in the village of Bucoli in Baucau Kota district, 150 kilometers east of here.

The death of the Golkar member angered hundreds of people who went on the rampage.

They torched two cars belonging to the chairman of the Baucau legislative council and the head of the local agriculture office before marching to the regent's residence.

Police mobile brigade officers fired warning shots to disperse the protesters.

Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares announced soon after Alcino's death that the man had not been killed by a member of the military or police. "He was allegedly killed by a group of people who oppose the government, Golkar and the Armed Forces," he said.

Yusuf said yesterday the killing of Alcino was probably planned by Fretilin rebels who wanted to discredit the Armed Forces.

He said his subordinates had handled the brawl and the death of Alcino very promptly. "Otherwise the brawl would have spread to other areas," he said.

Police have arrested four people believed to have know who initiated the brawl and killed Alcino. They are currently being interrogated as witnesses. (33/sur)