Man arrested for arms theft

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

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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