Man imprisoned for vandalism

Man imprisoned for vandalism

DILI, East Timor: The district court yesterday sentenced a man to 17 months in jail for burning houses and pelting stones at a fire brigade in the wake of ethnic rioting in November.

Judge Barita Sinaga said Agustino Belo was found guilty of inciting rioting on Nov. 12 last year, in which 38 houses near the Becora market were reduced to ashes, causing a lost of about Rp 50 million ($22,000).

Earlier, prosecutors sought two years in jail for Agustino.

The Becora incident, as the rioting is well known here, was sparked by the murder of an East Timorese by a South Sulawesi migrant. (yac)