TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Police investigate vandalism at C. Java Catholic church
Change Size
A statue of Jesus Christ positioned over an altar of a church. (ekaristi.org/-)
T
he Central Java Police are still investigating the destruction of two spiritual statues at the Santo Yusuf Pekerja Catholic Church in Gondangwinangun, Klaten, Central Java.
“The Central Java Police chief [Insp. Gen. Condro Kirono] has instructed the police’s general crime investigation directorate to immediately investigate the case and discover both the perpetrators and motives for the act of destruction,” National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said as quoted by Antara News in Jakarta on Thursday.
“We cannot yet reveal the perpetrators because there was no one who witnessed the incident. No CCTV camera has been installed in the area,” he said.
As reported earlier, a statue of Jesus Christ and another of the Virgin Mary inside the Catholic church were found to have been damaged by unidentified persons on Tuesday.
“The two statues were moved and then damaged. We are still investigating the case,” Klaten Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Faizal told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said the destruction was suspected to have taken place in between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, but the police received a report about the incident only later in the afternoon.
It was Rev. Sukowalyono, a Catholic priest in the church, who first reported the vandalism to the police, shortly after he returned from a trip to Yogyakarta. “After I arrived in the church at around 4 p.m., I got a report that two statues had been damaged. I then filed a report with the police,” Sukowalyono said.
The Jesus Christ statue was found in a river near the church, while the Virgin Mary statue had fallen down on the floor near the altar.
“Both statues are quite big and heavy so it is likely that the destruction was committed by more than one person,” said a church officer who wished to remain anonymous. (ebf)
