Rp 50m for info on Poso killers

Rp 50m for info on Poso killers

Antara, Palu

Police have announced a reward of Rp 50 million (about US$5,000)
for anyone with information on the murderers of three Christian
schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

The reward, which it is hoped will lead to a breakthrough in
the investigation, was announced by National Police Headquarters
and the Poso Law Enforcement Task Force.

The police also promised to protect anyone supplying
information.

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Sufahriadi said on
Tuesday that the reward was aimed at encouraging people in Poso
to come forward with information on the identities of the girls'
killers.

Notices announcing the reward have been posted up in Poso city
for the last three days in busy public places like markets, bus
stations, shops and offices. The reward notices provide
confidential phone numbers that people can call with information.
The numbers are (0452) 2707757, (0452) 324845 and 081341284466.

The three Christian schoolgirls were decapitated by six
machete-wielding men on motorbikes on Oct. 29 as the three were
walking to school in Poso, a religiously-divided town that saw
more than 1,000 people killed during a Christian-Muslim conflict
in 2000 and 2001. That conflict subsided after a government-
sponsored peace deal.

Just over a week after the attack, two female students were
shot at in a drive-by shooting while sitting in front of a house
in Poso.

Since the Oct. 29 attack, police have boosted security in Poso
by deploying reinforcements to the area in a bid to prevent
renewed clashes and to catch the perpetrators. Police have so far
named one suspect in the beheading case and three suspects in the
shooting incident.