Palu prosecutor gunned down

Ruslan Sangadji and Irvan NR, Palu

In the latest mystery shooting in Central Sulawesi, a prosecutor who dealt with terrorism cases was gunned down in the provincial capital of Palu, his wife and police said on Thursday.

Ferry Silalahi was shot dead at around 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday in his car outside the residence of lawyer Thomas D. Ihalaw on Jl. Swadaya in Tana Modindi neighborhood, South Palu.

Ferry and his wife were just leaving the house after attending evening Mass, Palu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Noman Siswandi said.

Ferry's body was laid out on Thursday at his home on Jl. Mayjen Sutoyo, East Palu, before it was flown to Jakarta on Friday.

Noman said unidentified gunmen shot the prosecutor several times, shattering the windshield of his car. Ferry died instantly, and the autopsy showed the weapon used was an automatic rifle.

The victim's wife survived the attack, as she had quickly jumped out of the car, he added.

Police are hunting down the gunmen, who are believed to have fled to the eastern part of Palu after the attack.

Noman said officers had identified the killers, but declined to release their identities in the interest of the ongoing investigation.

"I promise to thoroughly investigate the case, because otherwise it will ruin the authority of law enforcement," he said.

Central Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office head I Made Yasa said a group of terrorists was behind the murder, but declined to comment further, as he still in mourning over the death of his subordinate.

According to Ferry's wife, Yulia, four gunmen on two motorcycles had carried out the attack. She said they had dark skin and long hair.

Earlier, at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, she said she had seen similar men walking around outside her house.

She added that a neighbor said men with similar traits had bought an earring at a nearby kiosk.

The neighbor said only one of the men, who all looked "spooky", had talked to the vendor.

Ferry had been working in Palu for over a year, and like other prosecutors, he dealt with dozens of cases, including those on corruption and terrorism.

The most recent terrorism cases he had prosecuted were those on Bali bombing suspects Firmansyah, Fajri and Aang Hasanuddin.

Firmansyah and Fajri were sentenced to five years for aiding and abetting another Bali bombing suspect, Achmad Roichan, while Aang was jailed for three years for not informing police of the activities of the other two.

An appellate court ordered on May 11 that the convicts be released from detention, but Ferry and prosecutor Syahrul Alam had appealed the court order, and were awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.

Ferry also assisted in trying a major corruption case against Ambo Dalle, director of the Central Sulawesi village cooperatives center, which involved billions of rupiah.

During his tenure at the Tangerang Prosecutor's Office in Greater Jakarta, Ferry prosecuted Ang Kim Soei, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for operating an Ecstasy laboratory, reported to be one of Southeast Asia's largest such facility.

Palu is some 200 kilometers from the Central Sulawesi regency of Poso, which has recently experienced a string of attacks by unidentified gunmen.