Jakarta – A total of 740 people died at the hands of the national police during the past one year due to human rights abuses, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said.

According to the commission's record, the police allegedly committed 224 human rights violations in 10 provinces from June 2000 to June this year, resulting in 740 deaths.

The Kontras coordinator, Mr Munarwan, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying on Saturday that the strife-torn Aceh province topped the list for the highest number of violations and casualties.

"In Aceh, it is recorded that there are 108 alleged human rights violations conducted by the police, which have claimed a total of 289 lives," he said.

The report further revealed that the alleged human rights violations committed in the provinces included abduction, false arrests, torture, intimidation, extortion and willful destruction.

The provinces are Aceh, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Lampung, North Sumatra, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java and Irian Jaya.

Kontras released the report to coincide with the 55th anniversary of the national police yesterday.