Man arrested for arms theft
JAYAPURA, Papua: Police here said they arrested another suspect in the recent raid on a military arsenal in the Wamena district that killed three people, bringing to six the total number of arrests made.
Police arrested 28-year-old Des Wenda when he came to the Wamena Police station to visit the five suspects arrested earlier, district police chief Adj. Sr. Comr Agung Makbul said on Monday.
"When he came to see his friends, he pretended to be an ordinary civilian. But one of our men grew suspicious so we detained him and questioned. That's how we found out he took part in the raid," the officer said.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) has said the Free Papua Movement was behind the incident, which left two soldiers and one suspected rebel dead. A total of 29 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were stolen.
Senior TNI officers have said that several soldiers might have assisted the rebels, citing the ease with which the raid was carried out.
The incident sparked an intensive hunt for the weapons and those suspected to be behind the incident. Members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) were deployed to aid the local military in the hunt.
Wamena Military Resort chief Col. Agus Mulyadi said the military had recovered two more rifles on Monday morning. So far 21 of the stolen weapons have been recovered. -- Antara
;JP;bkm; ANPAa..r.. Madiun-councillor-murder Councillor charged with murder JP/ /Across
Councillor charged with murder
MADIUN, Central Java: Prosecutors on Monday charged a Golkar councillor in the Central Java regency of Nganjuk with the murder of a fellow party executive in a political quarrel over who would become Nganjuk's regent.
Councillor Adi Wibodo is alleged to have murdered the secretary of Golkar's Nganjuk branch, Adam Malik, on May 24 last year.
Prosecutors allege that Adi wanted to become the chair of Golkar's Nganjuk branch, a position currently held by Suparman. The prosecutors say that Adi saw the position as a stepping-stone to become the regent of Nganjuk.
Adam attempted to get the two parties to end their conflict but his efforts failed, apparently because Adi refused to cooperate, said prosecutor Gembong P.
Gembong said Suparman then ordered Adam to seize all Golkar property being used by Adi.
An infuriated Adi then allegedly hired 60-year-old Sukarno to kill Adam, paying him Rp 25 million (about US$2,800) in cash. Adi also promised him a post in the party and to pay his children's school fees if he became Nganjuk's deputy regent or regent.
Adi's lawyers dismissed the charges, saying their client had been intimidated during the investigation. -- Antara