Three detectives killed as 'ninjas'

Three detectives killed as 'ninjas'

JAKARTA (JP): Three Surabaya police precinct detectives were
killed on Saturday by an angry mob in Bangkalan on the island of
Madura after a criminal they were chasing shouted "ninja killers"
at them.

The three were named as Second Sgt. Yunus Paribong, Second
Sgt. Hadiri and Second Sgt. M. Dahlan.

Antara reported that the incident occurred when M.S., a man
wanted in connection with receiving stolen goods, attempted to
evade capture by shouting "ninjas" at five detectives (including
the three victims) chasing after him in the village of Kajuanak
in Bangkalan.

Villagers gripped by fear of "ninjas" emerged from their
houses, captured Yunus and beat him to death while the other four
escaped, two of whom hid in the immediate area.

On Sunday, when Hadiri and Dahlan emerged from their hiding
place and tried to convince residents that they were policemen,
they too were beaten to death. The angry mob also set fire to a
car belonging to the policemen.

It was reported that the five detectives were in the village
with a suspected motorcycle thief, identified as A.L., who had
agreed to take them to the person who allegedly bought
motorcycles that he stole.

Both suspected criminals escaped.

East Java Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Alfian Anwari, who
fetched the bodies from Bangkalan, called on the local people and
Moslem leaders to help police investigate the murder.

The three will be buried in the heroes' cemetery in Surabaya
because they were killed in the line of duty, he added.

Meanwhile, another angry mob in Purwokerto, Central Java,
attacked and seriously injured two people they suspected of being
"ninja killers".

Let. Col. Agus Sudharto, chief of the Banyumas police
precinct, said the two, 44-year-old Toto and 23-year-old
Pratiknyo, suffered serious injuries and are now being treated in
a public health center in Banyumas.

He said he regretted the attack because the two were not
"ninjas". The two were in Karang Kemiri village making
preparations for a cross-country run for Purwokerto businessmen.

"The two were beaten because they failed to show their
identity cards to the angry mob and because they said they came
from Surabaya in East Java," he said.

Police arrived in time to save the two men from death and took
them to the relative safety of Pakuncen district police precinct.
The mob then directed their anger at the police, pelting the
building with stones after police refused to hand the two men
over.

The station's doors and windows were damaged in the attack.

A mysterious murder spree started over three months ago in the
East Java regency of Banyuwangi. More than 150 Moslem preachers
and alleged sorcerers have since been sadistically killed. The
killers have been branded "ninjas" because they wear masks and
dark clothing in the fashion of Japanese assassins.

The murders have spread to various other areas, including
Central Java. Local vigilantes have more recently started a wave
of reprisals against suspected "ninja killers", lynching a number
of people on very little evidence of guilt.

Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, chief of the Diponegoro Military
Command overseeing Central Java and Yogyakarta, confirmed on
Saturday that neither the government nor the security authorities
had given an order to shoot captured "ninjas" on the spot.

"If any individuals suspected of being 'ninjas' are captured,
they should be handed over to the security authorities," he said
in the Central Java capital of Semarang. (45/rms)