Murder suspect caught unintentionally

Murder suspect caught unintentionally

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Medan police have unintentionally
caught a man suspected of shooting North Sumatra Supplier
Association chairman Bekman Hutabarat, after he was apprehended
for stealing a truck on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Sabaruddin, who is now being detained at the
Medan Baru Police subprecinct for stealing a truck carrying
candy, told police that he shot Bekman on Aug. 14 for Rp 20
million promised by two men identified as Alex and Jimmy, a
police investigator said on Saturday.

The officer said that Sabaruddin stole the truck on Jl.
Sunggal Deli Serdang on Thursday morning, letting the driver
Saparudin escape unharmed.

Saparudin then reported the theft to local police, who
arrested Sabaruddin in the evening.

The surprise confession from Sabaruddin was a relief to
police, who had no leads in the Bekman attempted murder case.

Quoting Sabaruddin, the police officer, who requested
anonymity, said that the suspect did not know Alex and Jimmy
well.

"It was a friend who introduced the suspect to Alex and
Jimmy," the officer said, without identifying the suspect's
friend, who is now wanted for questioning.

"Alex and Jimmy promised them both Rp 20 million each.
Sabaruddin and his friend had each received Rp 1 million as a
down payment for the service prior to the shooting."

Sabaruddin said he was riding pillion on a motorcycle driven
by Jimmy when he shot Bekman at the latter's residence on Jl. Sei
Bingei No. 4/49.

Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Badrodin Haiti confirmed the
arrest of the self-confessed shooter and said that his officers
would develop the investigation.

"We'll find more witnesses before we get the main suspects,"
he said.

Police still do not know the motive behind the shooting.

Bekman Hutabarat has now returned to Medan from Singapore,
where he underwent an operation in Gleaneagles Hospital to
retrieve the bullet from his spine.

The bullet is now being studied in Medan Police's forensic
laboratory.

Police had earlier said that the shell of a bullet believed to
be of an FN 32 hand gun was found at the scene of the crime soon
after the shooting.

Police are now still working hard to identify the person who
shot Sion Ginting, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
member of the Tanah Karo regency legislative council. He survived
the attack. (42/09)