Two more people fall victim in East Java killing spree

SURABAYA (JP): The mysterious killing spree in East Java has claimed two more victims, including one man slain in a mob attack because he was suspected of complicity in the murders.

Their deaths in Jember bring the number of murders to 159, according to the estimate of the independent Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). Most previous victims were either suspected practitioners of black magic or Moslem preachers.

On Sunday morning, a Darungan villager of Tanggul subdistrict, Nurasin, 50, was found dead in the gutter near his house by villagers. His body had several wounds inflicted by a sharp object and his skull was smashed. Neighbors said Nurasin may have been murdered on Saturday night.

They described him as a laborer who did not dabble in black magic, but was a devout Moslem.

Neighbors claimed to have seen several strangers in the area before they found Nurasin's body.

On Saturday, a 35-year-old man was mobbed to death in front of the Ledokombo police subprecinct, also in Jember, about 105 kilometers east of here.

Locals said the unidentified man had been in police custody since Friday, allegedly for suspicious acts.

Villagers reportedly went to the police station and demanded that the suspect be released, or they would burn down the building. The police complied, and the man was set upon by the mob.

However, Jember police chief Lt. Col. A. Madjid Thawil denied that police had released the man at the mob's insistence.

He said the man was caught by villagers and was about to be handed over to the police. However, they met another crowd of villagers in front of the police station and the situation became violent. He added another man was beaten but survived. He is undergoing treatment at Dr. Subandi Hospital in Jember.

The police have been criticized for being slow in handling the murders and averting more murders. Kontras estimated the number of victims at 157 on Friday. At least 110 have been killed in Banyuwangi alone, its coordinator, Munir said.

He believed the murders may have been perpetrated by an organized force.

Several religious teachers in Jember called on police to stop the killing. Some claimed they had received written death threats.

Yusuf Muhammad from an Islamic boarding school in the Telaga Besar subdistrict, who is also a cleric of the Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization -- said two strangers had once come looking for him.

Munir said the killings had intensified since the Banyuwangi administration instructed village chiefs to list alleged practitioners of black magic, but half the victims were preachers.

On Saturday, Antara news agency reported that the police intelligence coordinator investigating the killings, Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, said the police recorded 71 murders in September alone. (nur/aan)