APSN Banner

Another police officer murdered

Source
Agence France Presse - November 1, 1998 (abridged)

Dili – Masked assassins killed an Indonesian policeman in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor Saturday a day after the stabbing murders of three other officials, reports said Sunday. Second Sergeant Josep Florindo Pereira was shot dead by five men believed to be pro-independence fighters at his home, the Antara state news agency and witnesses reported.

A duty police officer in Liquisa district, 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) west of here, confirmed a officer was shot. "He was attacked at his home, most likely by the freedom fighters," said a resident who had contacted residents from Liquisa, referring to pro-independence Timorese.

He quoted them as saying Pereira was killed because of rumours that he had threatened people in the community to support Jakarta's proposal for autonomy for the troubled territory.

On Friday an Indonesian government engineer and two soldiers were stabbed to death in the town of Weberek 70 kilometers (44 miles) southeast of here and their bodies thrown into a river. Local military chief Colonel Tono Suratman said the three left their headquarters on a regular patrol Friday. None of the three was armed at the time and the vehicle they were using was missing. Suratman said four people were being questioned.

Country