I think maybe you read the article too fast:


Local government official Rachmat said the reticulated python measured 48 feet 8 inches and weighed in at 983 pounds.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest ever captured snake to be 32 feet. The heaviest — a Burmese Python kept in Gurnee, Ill. — weighs 402 pounds, the book said on its Web site.
Some "local official" delcared that the snake was 48' long, etc. While the Guinness website lists an entirely different snake as the biggest. Nowhere does it say (nor has it been said since) that Guinness confirmed their claims.

After the story had circulated for quite awhile and people tried to confirm those claims, the snake actually got a LOT shorter. In reality, it was somewhat less than 30' long.