Malang killing spree claims another victim
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)