Austria's justice minister said local authorities were gullible in their dealings with Josef Fritzl, who has admitted imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children.

The comments from Justice Minister Maria Berger were the first time the government has acknowledged official shortcomings in the handling of the case.

"Looking at everything that we know up to now, I can see a certain gullibility - especially when it comes to that tale that she had joined a sect, with which the suspect explained the disappearance of his daughter," Berger told Austrian daily Der Standard in remarks published yesterday.

Fritzl, 73, lured his daughter Elisabeth into a basement in 1984, drugging her and locking her up before abusing her for almost a quarter of a century. Fritzl claimed his missing daughter had left home to join a sect.

Three of Elisabeth's children were raised by Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie after Fritzl claimed his daughter had left them on his doorstep with a letter saying she could not care for them.

Fritzl, who also has seven children with his wife, adopted one and was allowed to foster the other two.

Berger said that adoptions in Austria by family members, which until now have been less closely scrutinized than those by non-relatives, would be vetted more carefully.

"In general, adoptive parents are checked up thoroughly. One way to do so is to check the criminal record," Berger said.

Media and charities have questioned the decision to let Fritzl look after the children, especially as he had been convicted for rape in the 1960s.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/08/2008 page11)