Man held for cannibalism

Man held for cannibalism

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purbalingga, Central Java

The people of the Central Java regency of Purbalingga were
horrified by the arrest of a local 31-year-old man who confessed
to stealing a human corpse and eating it in order to obtain
supernatural powers.

Sumanto, a resident of Palumutan village in Kemangkon
subdistrict, admitted to digging up the corpse of one Rina and
eating pieces of the body.

His confession was supported by evidence found in his house,
including pieces of human meat in a wok and inside three bottles,
and human bones.

Sumanto was arrested after his neighbors in Palumutan
discovered that the corpse of Rina, 80, had disappeared from its
grave on Sunday, a day after she was buried.

The villagers organized a search for the missing body and
discovered it at Sumanto's house, some three kilometers from the
cemetery.

"It's savage. Only an insane person would do that,"
Purbalingga Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sofyan Abadi said on
Thursday.

However, he said there were no signs that Sumanto was insane
during his questioning by police officers.

The suspect told investigators he stole the corpse and ate it
in order to gain supernatural powers and to ensure a peaceful
soul.

"That is what he confessed to us. He says he was required to
do this by his magic teacher. But we aren't just taking his word
and are continuing to investigate," Agus said.

Police believe this may not have been the first time Sumanto
has eaten human flesh, as other human bones were found in the
suspect's small bamboo house.

He was for a time a suspect in the disappearance of a local
villager in the middle of last year.

Sumanto is known by his neighbors as a farm laborer who keeps
to himself and spends most of his time in his home. He and his
father are estranged, and the father reportedly carries a machete
to protect himself from his son.

Sumanto is being held at the Purbalingga Police station and is
undergoing intensive questioning.