Catholic official among graft suspects in Indonesia
District chief charged in an embezzlement scandal involving government land in East Nusa Tenggara
Suspects in the land graft case, including an Italian national (second row), are escorted from Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo to be detained in Kupang, capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, on Jan. 14. (Photo supplied)
A Catholic district chief in Indonesia has been named as one of 16 suspects charged in an embezzlement scandal involving government land in a tourism area in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Agustinus Ch Dula, who heads West Manggarai district, and the others are accused of selling off 30 hectares of government-owned land near the coast in Labuan Bajo on the western tip of Flores, said Yulianto, head of the East Nusa Tenggara High Prosecutor s Office.
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The Komodo dragon lives up to its name: nearly 200 pounds of lizard, 8 feet from tail to tongue, with teeth like a shark.
Its bite implants venom that can stop your heart within hours. That’s if you don’t bleed out first. The creature tends to grip and rip, sinking jaws into prey and tearing off limbs.
But its fearsome reputation is exactly what makes the beast so attractive to a certain type of tourist one willing to pay good money for a selfie with a so-called “dragon” in the background.
Charging foreigners for an encounter with these giant lizards is a niche industry in Indonesia’s Flores Island and its environs. This is the natural habitat of the Komodo dragon.