Jakarta – Rumours that the construction of a bridge linking Indonesia's densely-populated East Java province with Madura island would need the sacrifice of a child have caused fear and panic among parents there, a report said Sunday.

The panic led to the lynching of a man February 22 in the town of Sidoarjo south of Surabaya who was suspected of being on the lookout for children he could snatch for the sacrifice, the Kompas newspaper said. The man turned out to be mentally disturbed and homeless.

A similar case took place in another place in the same town three days later but police intervened in time to save the victim.

Fears of prowling children kidnappers have already forced a group of mothers to picket the city police headquarters in Surabaya, the capital of East Java, demanding that police be more active in looking for and arresting the potential kidnappers.

Kompas cited among the rumors circulating in Surabaya and other coastal towns on the northern part of East Java, that a man was caught with the heads of four children in his bag, of a businessmen had several children gagged and bound in the trunk of his car and of an attractive woman luring children away. None of the rumors have been substantiated.

Traditions in Java demands that sacrifice of animals be made at the beginning of construction work of any large structure to assure that it remains strong and is protected from mishap and destruction. The sacrifice of children is believed to be more potent in providing protection for building structures.