UN soldier's murder unsolved

UN soldier's murder unsolved

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The investigation into the killing
of a New Zealand-born UN peacekeeper by an East Timorese
militiaman last year is hanging in the balance due to a lack of
additional evidence, an official said on Thursday.

Robert Tacoy, a spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara
provincial prosecutor's office, said the prosecutors had written
to the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET),
asking for the return of the automatic rifle believed to have
been used to shoot the UN soldier, Leonard Maning, the postmortem
report on the victim and the attendance of two of Maning's
comrades in Kupang to give testimony.

"Without the evidence, we cannot proceed with the
investigation," Robert said.

UNTAET had questioned the prospects for the investigation
after the suspect, Yacobus Bere, surrendered to Belu Police on
Jan. 15 after six months on the run.

Later, Indonesian Army troops discovered during a weapons
search the rifle that had killed Maning and returned it to the UN
peacekeeping force. The weapon belonged to Maning, who was on
border patrol in Suai when a group of pro-Jakarta militiamen
ambushed the UN troops. (36)