Black magic tied to village head’s killing

KENINGAU: A village head of a remote kampung in Sabah’s interior was gunned down in what villagers say had elements of revenge and black magic.

Datirin Julani, 50, was shot twice by a villager while tending to his orchard at Kampung Tangulun Jaya, about 200km from Kota Kinabalu, at 1pm on Saturday.

Villagers said a farmer, aged 41, had been suffering from severe skin sores and was convinced Datirin had cast a spell on him and wanted to exact revenge.

When police arrived at the scene at about 2.45pm, the suspect was still holding the bekakuk (homemade shotgun) and only surrendered the weapon after police persuaded him to do so. He was then taken into custody.