Malang killing spree claims another victim
SURABAYA (JP): The killing spree in the city of Malang, East Java, continued with the murder of a 10th victim, a 45-year-old mother of five, police confirmed on Friday.
The victim, a resident of Pringgandani village in Bantur district, was killed in her home by a group of attackers at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday in front of two of her children, Malang Police chief Lt. Col. Herry Prastowo said.
"Her body was dumped in a cemetery close to her residence," he said, adding that police, alerted by the woman's neighbors, arrived at the scene shortly after the attack.
"What surprised us was that more than 200 locals then marched to the police station claiming to have killed the woman and demanding the police arrest them. They said the main target (of the attack) was her husband Irsyad, 70, who was able to escape when the mob approached," Herry said.
According to the residents, who spent the night at the police station, Irsyad practiced black magic, but Herry said police were still investigating this allegation.
Herry said seven of the residents who marched to the station were believed to have instigated the incident, but no arrests have been made.
East Java Police chief Maj. Gen. M. Dayat earlier said 35 people were being detained as suspects in the killing spree in Malang.
He said the mysterious killings, which began late last year, were organized and backed by certain groups, which he did not identify.
The Surabaya branch of the Legal Aid Institute said a military member was involved in the killing spree. It based its allegation on the fact that a member of the Kalipare Military Subdistrict Command, identified as ER, was caught by residents at the site of the ninth murder on Dec. 23.
The chief of the Brawijaya Military Command overseeing Malang has denied the allegation.
Four members of the National Commission on Human Rights, led by Koesparmono Irsan, have traveled to Malang to investigate the killings. "They spent some minutes at the police station. That's what I know," Herry said. (nur/sur)