Police in the dark over alleged shooting at party leader's house

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Mon, 03/24/2008 11:46 AM

The Denpasar Police are still in the dark over an alleged shooting at the house of a local party leader, with investigators saying some evidence found at the scene conflicts with witness accounts of the incident.

"We are still investigating the incident," Denpasar Police spokesman Comr. Ketut Suwetra said Saturday.

"We intend to find out who the actor behind the alleged shooting is."

Kadek Astawa, head of the Buleleng chapter of the New Indonesia Alliance (PIB) party, filed a police report last Monday saying his house on Jl. Ratna, East Denpasar, had been fired on several times Sunday night by unidentified person(s).

"That night, I heard several minor explosions. But when I went outside to check I found nothing," Astawa said Monday.

"This morning, my domestic servant told me he found several strange objects on the floor. They turned out to be projectiles. That's when I started realizing the explosions were actually gunshots."

However, some evidence found by investigators have led police to consider other possible explanations.

"We find striking differences between witnesses' testimonies and the evidence found at the site," Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Yovianes Mahar told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said police had determined the projectiles didn't match the bullet marks on the wall of the house.

"Besides, the witnesses acknowledged that all they heard were blasts, thus no one really saw the shooting," he added.

He said the police would run more ballistics tests on the bullets and double-check the testimonies of witnesses.

Suwetra said police were investigating the possibilities the shooting was either a bogus incident or the result of a domestic conflict.

"If we later find out the incident was a sham, that Astawa had filed a fake police report, then he himself might be charged as a suspect in the case," he said.

In a statement made to local reporters, Astawa, who also runs a private enterprise dealing with household waste, said he had no idea who might shoot at his house, as he had no enemies.

"I am not in the middle of some business turned sour," he said.

He also denied the possibility the shooting was the result of a political feud.

Astawa was the head of the Buleleng chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) before joining the PIB.

The police have questioned 10 witnesses, including Astawa, but have yet to name a suspect in the case.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |