Curitiba, February 9, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Klinger Pereira, the first person suspected of involvement in the assassination of four Ministry of Labor inspectors ten days ago in Unaí, in the northwest of Minas Gerais, remains under arrest by the Civil Police in Francisco Beltrão, Paraná. He was arrested at the beginning of last week, when the police caught him trying to steal a pick-up truck. He exchanged shots with the police officers and was wounded in the leg.

The police suspect Klinger, because, among his belongings, they found a bar of soap from the hotel in which the inspectors stayed. The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Police of Brasília, but, according to Francisco Beltrão police superintendent, Benedito Souza, there is still no more concrete evidence of Klinger's participation in the crime. He claims he has the soap because he and his father were guests at the hotel in Unaí in December. (DAS)