Police focus on one suspect in boys killing

JAKARTA (JP): Police are focusing their investigations on one of the 10 men who have been questioned since a few days ago in connection with the killing of at least eight boys in the city.

"As of today, our preliminary investigations have pointed to him as the one who might have committed the crime but, so far, we have yet to name him as the suspect," Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata told reporters yesterday evening.

The two-star general, however, refused to go into details, saying that the final investigation has not yet been concluded.

Eight boys aged between 11 and 13 years old have been found dead. Most of the victims are believed to have been sodomized before being murdered by the alleged serial killer.

By the time most of the unidentified victims were found, with their stomachs torn out, their bodies had decomposed. Police said that they had found no strong evidence at any of the crime scenes to help them to trace the guilty party.

The first victim was found two years ago and the last one on July 8. Four of the victims were found in bushes near a golf course at the defunct Kemayoran airport in Central Jakarta while the others were found in Pondok Kopi in East Jakarta.

Forensic expert Abdul Mun'im Idries from the Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital concluded that the latest victim had been a long-time victim of anal sex.

Another reliable police source said that the teenage boy might have been raped after being killed.

According to the head of the city police detectives, Col. Paimin AB, the man, who is under intensive interrogation at the East Jakarta police precinct, is in his 30s.

The officer, however, refused to give the identity of the man or his work.

"He has been interrogated since two days ago," Paimin said yesterday.

He said that so far police have no idea as to the precise number of suspects in the serial killing spree.

Separately yesterday, a reliable source at the East Jakarta police precinct said that a special team has been assigned to hunt the perpetrator of the serial killings. (bsr)