Two soldiers arrested over Papua shooting

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The Jakarta Post,  Fri, August 28 2015


Two Army officers were arrested on Friday for allegedly killing two men and injuring two others in Timika Baru district in Papua.

First Sergeant Arshar and Sergeant Head Makher from the Timika Military Command were both taken to the Military Police office in Timika after killing Imanuel Mailmaur, 23, and Yulianus Okoare, 23, and injuring Marthinus Apokapo, 24, and Martinus Imapula, 25, who were shot in the hip and foot respectively.

“They were both guilty and they should be held responsible for their behavior,” the commander of Merauke Regional Military Command, Brig. Gen. Supartodi, told The Jakarta Post.

Supartodi said that the two officers were drunk when they opened fire into a crowd of people.

Two different versions of what happened during the incident have circulated among the public.

The Army version states that the two officers only defended themselves after the crowd tried to seize their weapons.

However, witnesses in the crowd said that those two officers were already drunk when they approached the crowd.

Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw is currently in Timika to assist with the handling of the situation.


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Same story, another version

Two people were killed and two others seriously injured when two soldiers opened fire in Timika Baru district, Mimika regency, in Papua early on Friday kompas.com reported.

The incident started when two military personnel rode a motorcycle along Jl. Bhayangkara in Timika at 2:35 a.m. on Friday while a crowd of about 100 people were having a party on the road.

Lambertus, a resident of Timika, spoke on the phone to kompas.com, saying that the incident started when the people partying, who had been drinking alcohol, scolded the soldiers for driving fast, and told them to drive more slowly along that road.

But the solders, Lambertus said, challenged the crowd and a heated argument began. “The people cried ‘slow down’, then the motorcycle stopped. One of the soldiers said, ‘What do you want?’ and then the people started to circle around the soldiers,” he recounted.

Lambertus said that minutes later, three more soldiers on motorcycles arrived. When the situation escalated, they opened fire. “When the soldiers opened fire, everyone ran away to save themselves,” he added.

The names of the deceased are Yulianus Okoare (18) and Imanuel Marimau (23). Yulianus died at the scene, while Imanuel died later at Mimika hospital. The critically injured people are currently receiving treatment at Mimika hospital.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Patrige Renwarin confirmed that the incident took place, but said that he had not received an official report about it. “My information [so far] is from a resident of Timika. We are waiting for the official report,” Patriage added.



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