More suspected killers murdered in East Java

SURABAYA (JP): Angry mobs killed three more people in Madura and Sidoarjo on Wednesday and Tuesday in reprisals against individuals they suspected of involvement in the mysterious killing spree in East Java.

Local police said that Kahar, 30, a resident of Galis district in Bangkalan regency, Madura, was mobbed to death early on Wednesday.

He was attacked on his way to visit a religious leader, Masduki, who heads the Cendana Islamic boarding school.

In Sidoarjo, two people were killed on Tuesday because they were suspected of being members of the gangs which have slain alleged black magic practitioners and religious leaders. A mob attacked the two at the Pondok Candra housing complex.

They were reportedly burned to death and their bodies paraded through the town's streets. As of Wednesday, the two unidentified bodies remained at the morgue of the Sidoarjo general hospital.

Assaults against people suspected by residents of being killers started last Friday, with mobs parading severed victim's heads through village streets.

Kompas daily reported on Wednesday that police in Malang had arrested 54 suspects who were allegedly part of the mobs which attacked at least 18 people. The toll from the killing spree, which has also victimized farmers, is at least 157 people in East Java, according to the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence. Police last recorded 142 deaths, mostly in Banyuwangi.

The daily also said most of the victims, including suspected killers, had yet to be identified. However, police said most of those killed on suspicion of taking part in the killings had suffered from "mental disorders" and some were former psychiatric center inmates.

Meanwhile, at least six journalists covering the gruesome murders in Jember and Banyuwangi reportedly evacuated their family members on Tuesday after receiving death threats.

Witnesses said on Tuesday the threats were printed on flyers and circulated in Jember.

East Java Governor Imam Utomo said Tuesday he would guarantee the personal safety of journalists reporting on the murders.

As fears mount over the mysterious killings, villagers have begun arming themselves, setting curfews and conducting patrols. In some instances, there have been assaults on people who did not have identity papers or were found wandering alone at night.

A number of Moslem preachers in the Central Java regency of Banyumas and Tegal have also received telephone death threats.

Local religious leader Noer Iskandar said on Wednesday that about 300 Moslem clerics from Banyumas regency had gathered earlier in the afternoon in the nearby town of Purwokerto and agreed to establish security posts in their respective neighborhoods. (nur/45/byg)