Jonathon Head reports from Jakarta

A traditional sorcerer has gone on trial in the Indonesian city of Medan, accused of killing 42 women.

The man, Ahmad Suradji, was arrested in April when the police began digging up the bodies of victims near his house.

Officials say the sorcerer had admitted killing the women in a black magic ritual to increase his magical powers.

According to police, the sorcerer had a dream nine years ago in which the ghost of his father told him to kill 70 women and drink their saliva.

The victims were women who came to him to ask for supernatural help in making themselves richer or more attractive.

It is thought his macabre activities escaped detection because the women were too embarrassed to tell friends and family where they were going.

The courtroom in Medan was packed with more than 100 people as the trial began.

If found guilty, the man faces the death penalty.

The BBC correspondent in Indonesia says mystical powers are widely trusted there, and sorcerers can be found even in Jakarta's modern shopping centres.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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