Jakarta- An Indonesian court on Thursday jailed a man who falsely claimed to have invented a technology to turn water into fuel in a scandal that embarrassed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Judges in Bantul district in Yogyakarta province found Djoko Suprapto guilty of defrauding a university of 1.3 billion rupiah (115,700 dollars) in research funds and sentenced him to three-and-a half years, said Joko Sutrisno, the court's administrative chief.

The court official said the defendant would appeal the verdict.

Jakarta - Rescuers on Tuesday stopped the search for about 260 people still missing after a ferry sank off Indonesia's West Sulawesi province earlier this month, an official said.

Thirty-five people were rescued, including the ship's captain, and nine others found dead after the ship sank in stormy seas on January 11 off the port town of Majene, said Colonel Jaka Santosa, a navy officer who led the search operation.

Santosa said an estimated 262 people were still missing and believed to have gone down with the ship.

Jakarta - Police have named the captain of a passenger ferry that sank off the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi a suspect for negligence in the accident that left more than 220 people missing and believed dead, officials said Monday.

Only 35 people including the captain were known to have survived, and nine bodies were found after the accident, leaving more than
220 others unaccounted for.

South Sulawesi police spokesman Heri Sabuansuari said the captain, identified only as Sabir, was a suspect for negligence that caused loss of life.

If found guilty, Sabir could face to a maximum of five years imprisonment.

Jakarta  - Fighting high waves and bad weather, rescuers resumed their search Monday as more than 200 people remained missing after a passenger ferry capsized off the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi the day before.

Raden Arsono, an official at the Search and Rescue (SAR) agency in the South Sulawesi capital Makassar, said so far only 20 survivors had been found after two other survivors were reportedly picked up by local fishermen Monday morning, leaving 248 people missing and feared drowned.

Jakarta  - A ferry with 267 people on board sank in rough waters off the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi early Sunday, leaving scores missing and feared drowned, officials said.

Eighteen people were rescued from the sea, including a crew member, who told officials that the ship was engulfed by huge waves before it sank, said Ilham Rachman, an official at the port in West Sulawesi town of Majene.

But Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said in Jakarta that the ministry had received an unconfirmed report that 150 people had been rescued.

"We don't know for sure. We have not been unable to confirm this," he said.

Jakarta  - A ferry with some 250 people on board sank in rough waters off the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi early Sunday, leaving more than 200 missing and feared drowned, officials said.

Eighteen people were rescued from the sea, including a crew member, who told officials that the ship was engulfed by huge waves before it sank, said Ilham Rachman, an official at the post in West Sulawesi port town of Majene.

"The crew member said the weather was very bad and the seas were rough," Ilham said.

"We haven't been able to get much information from them because they are still very weak and traumatized," he said about the survivors.