Police search for bodies of six workers
Police search for bodies of six workers
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Of the nine people believed to
have been killed by a person recruiting them to work overseas,
police have only recovered three of the bodies.
Banyumas Police chief Lt. Col. Johnny H. Hutauruk told The
Jakarta Post on Friday that the three were identified as Syaiful,
20, Suratno, 21, and Sarno, 23, all from Cirebon.
On Friday police were still searching the Serayu River and
others areas along the north coast in an attempt to locate the
remains of Arifin, Taka, Tinggal, Syarif, Hamzah and Amijaya
Firdaus, also mostly in their 20s. Most of the victims are
believed to have been given sedatives, police said. Autopsies of
the bodies of Suratno and Sarno revealed stab wounds to their
necks.
Johnny said the first victim, Syaiful, was killed in December
while the last victim was killed earlier this month.
Police, citing testimony given by the suspect, said the
victims were killed because the suspect could not stand their
constant pestering, asking him when they could leave and start
work.
The suspect told police he had promised the victims work in
Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, but their passports had not yet
been issued. The victims applied five months ago for their
passports, paying millions of rupiah, police said.
Two of the victims were buried in the Banyumas and Kebumen
forests, and the other victim was found in a septic tank behind
the suspect's home. The remaining six victims were reportedly
dumped in a river.
The suspect, Aidit, 27, who was arrested on Thursday, said he
worked as a broker for migrant workers for a labor supply firm in
Jakarta. Police said he came from the Kapetakan district in the
Cirebon regency, West Java, and was staying in the village of
Kedungwuluh Kidul in the Patikraja district in Banyumas. He is
now being detained at the Banyumas Police station. Neighbors
reported the suspect to police because they were suspicious of
the constant stream of strange visitors to his house. (45)