Indonesians arrested for shooting an orangutan some 130 times

JAKARTA: Four Indonesian men have been arrested over the killing of an orangutan shot some 130 times with an air rifle, police said Monday, in the latest fatal attack on a critically endangered species. The suspects, farmers from the island of Borneo, admitted killing the animal, saying it ruined their crops at a pineapple and palm oil plantation, according to authorities. “They meant to shoo away (the orangutan) but their actions instead killed the orangutan,” East Kutai district police chief Teddy Ristiawan told AFP. The suspects, who were arrested last week, will be charged with killing a protected animal and face up to five years’ jail and a maximum fine of about $7,400. Ristiawan said a fifth suspect, a 13-year-old boy, was arrested but later released because he was a minor.