Mutilated body

Mutilated body
found in bags

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: The residents of Banjarmasin
were shocked upon finding two bags, which turned out later to
contain human body parts, on two rivers on Saturday and Tuesday.

The first bag was found on Saturday on the Martapura river,
which crosses the city of Banjarmasin, and the second bag,
slightly smaller than the first, was found on a smaller river,
around one kilometer away.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that the mutilated body in the two
bags was that of a 37-year-old woman identified as Masratu, a
trader living in the western part of the city.

Banjarmasin Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhardjito told reporters
at Masratu's residence that police had arrested a suspect
identified as Bambang Ponco Soekarno, a father of four children.

Saying that it was the most sadistic murder that had ever
occurred in the province, Suhardjito said that Bambang admitted
to having killed Masratu over his family's Rp 20 million debt to
her.

Bambang's wife had just left him for personal reasons when
Masratu came to ask him to return the money. "He was enraged and
attacked the woman," Suhardjito said.

Residents became angry upon hearing that Bambang was the
murderer. They ransacked Bambang's house on Tuesday. (32/sur)

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Students-Brawl
Students seek refuge after brawl
JP/2/Across

Students seek
refuge after brawl

MEDAN, North Sumatra: At least 200 students of the Catholic
University of St. Thomas here started seeking refuge at the
provincial legislative council building on Tuesday for fear that
residents living around their campus would attack their boarding
houses. This followed a two-day fierce brawl between them in
which 60 students were rushed to hospital with injuries.

The students said they felt unsafe staying at the boarding
houses, which are located around the campus. They also criticized
the campus management's decision to close the campus for one week
following the bloody clash.

Chairman of Students Council Bernas Nababan told The Jakarta
Post on Tuesday that the students had no other place that was
secure from intimidation by local residents, who had been
searching for them in the vicinity of the campus since Sunday.

"We reported to the Medan Police about our being here and the
police chief agreed."

The brawl, which erupted on Friday night, was initiated by the
residents' anger at the students, whom they accused of having
extorted a street vendor.

Some students acknowledged that the brawl had been triggered
by some of their number. "Six students refused to pay completely
for the meal they had eaten at a roadside stall. The stall owner
became angry and hit one of the students, unconfirmed reports
said. That happened on Friday night," said a student who asked to
remain anonymous. "The stall owner was usually very tolerant of
the students when they were unable to pay completely for their
meal. But on Friday night he got very angry, although the
students owed him only Rp 3,000."

Meanwhile, police were still on alert on Tuesday at the
campus, whose buildings housing the Law, Technical and Literature
schools, which were partly damaged.

There was no reports on how the university had approached the
residents to make peace. (42/sur)

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Refugee
EU gives Rp40m for refugees
JP/2/Across

EU gives Rp 40m
for refugees

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The European Union has provided
the Indonesian government with Rp 40 million in aid for the
continuation of the resettlement program for some 200,000 East
Timor refugees who have opted to remain in Indonesia.

The head of East Nusa Tenggara Resettlement and Regional
Infrastructure office Piet Djami Rebo told The Jakarta Post on
Tuesday that the money would be used to finance the construction
of 1,500 houses for the refugees in separate areas in the
province.

"The regencies of Kupang, Central Timor Selatan, Central Timor
Utara, Belu, Sumba and Flores have offered land for the refugees'
houses," he said.

"We have built 2,300 houses in several areas in the province
for the refugees since the resettlement program started early
last year."

The project was stopped due to a shortage of funds. "Now that
we will receive financial aid from the European Union the project
can resume." (30/sur)

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ANPAa..r..
Across-Drawn
Eight Cilacap fishermen drawn
JP/2/Across

Eight Cilacap
fishermen drown

CILACAP, Central Java: Eight fishermen from Cilacap were
missing after their motor boat Perintis II was destroyed by large
waves off the southern coast on Monday, chairman of the
fishermen's association Atas Munandar confirmed on Tuesday.

According to Atas, who is chief of the local search-and-rescue
team, the ill-fated boat set sail from Cilacap port on Sunday
evening. The boat, navigated by Sutanto, was equipped with a
large net locally known as a jaring kantung.

The eight missing people are Sutanto, the navigator, Sartono,
Marto, Tugirwan, Sukanto, Minggu, Pujo Suwarno and Slamet.

They were all over 40 years old except for Slamet, who was
only 19.

Quoting other fishermen, Atas said that the boat was last seen
at the Penanjungan area, some 11 kilometers (seven miles) off the
Pangandaran beach. "The boat was torn apart and sank after large
waves hit it," Atas quoted an eyewitness as saying.

"We've been working hard but we've found none of the missing
people," he said. (45/sur)