Man-eating tiger stalks villagers

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: A tiger that devoured a villager and injured another in the Gunung Tinggi-Pantee Purba district in Aceh Barat regency last week is still haunting area residents, Antara said yesterday.

Adian Abdullah, a village leader, told the news agency many residents claimed to have seen the tiger several times in the past week on their way to or from their farms.

After last week's attack on the two villagers -- identified as Hamidi and Basyarian Achmad -- the beast has devoured dogs and goats belonging to the people. Villagers only managed to find parts of Hamidi, with the rest believed to have been eaten.

The 3,500 or so residents in the district are too afraid to walk alone to their farms, Adian said.

The villagers are still waiting for Aceh's Natural Conservation Agency to send experts to handle the tiger.

Adian said as a last resort, villagers would try to poison the tiger to put their fear behind them once and for all.

Antara said a 1990 law on wildlife protection states that anyone who kills or injures a protected species is liable to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment or a Rp 200 million fine. (emb)