Ghosts, Black Magic Involved in Papua Murder Case, Police Say

A man from Manokwari district, Papua, was shot dead on Sunday because he was believed to have kept an evil ghost, Indonesian police said.

Yacobus Yarpandu, 23, from Hangho village, Tanah Rubuh subdistrict, was allegedly involved in the practice of black magic. He was shot in the back with a homemade rifle and is believed to have died instantly, Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono told the Jakarta Globe.

He added that a man from the neighboring village of Cuheyep, Alex Sayori, was the main suspect in the slaying and was being sought by police.

Wachyono said Yarpandu and Sayori suspected each other of keeping “suanggi,” ghosts that are said to perform evil deeds on behalf of their owners.

“Our preliminary findings, collected from several witnesses, show that the shooting was triggered by suspicion of black magic, although it isn’t clear who practiced the black magic,” he said.

Wachyono said Sayori fled into the jungle after the shooting and that officers from the Manokwari Police were searching for him.

Belief in black magic remains deeply rooted in the country. In 1998, more than 230 people in Banyuwangi and other areas of East Java were murdered because they were suspected of practicing black magic and casting spells.

In May, an elderly couple and their daughter were burned alive in North Tapanuli district, North Sumatra, by villagers who accused them of casting spells that could hurt or kill people.

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