Soldier sentenced to death for shooting rampage

JAKARTA (JP): An officer of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) was sentenced to death in the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura yesterday for killing 16 people in a shooting spree at the Timika airport last year.

The 37-year-old Second Lieutenant Sanurip said he would appeal.

Spokesman for the local Trikora Regional Military Command Lt. Col. Maulud Hidayat said last night that the Jayapura military tribunal, after hearing the testimony of eight witnesses, convicted Sanurip of killing 11 soldiers and five civilians.

The incident took place at 5 a.m. local time after Sanurip became involved in a dispute with a fellow officer. The lieutenant grabbed a machine gun and sprayed the soldiers and civilian workers with bullets.

Maulud said the tribunal rejected Sanurip's defense statement, which claimed he was deranged and did not know what he was doing.

"Based on facts and evidence revealed during the trial, the defendant has been legally and convincingly found guilty of the fatal shootings," Chief judge, Col. Amirudin Rachim, said as quoted by Hidayat.

During the trials, which began earlier this month, Sanurip's defense lawyers said he was stressed after spending months in the Irian Jaya jungle.

Earlier reports said Sanurip was affected by malaria. (imn)