Mob sets fire to police station in Papua

The Jakarta Post, Jayapura,  Sun, June 16 2013,


A mob set ablaze the Pegununungan Bintang Police station in Oksibil, Papua, on Sunday, leaving two police officers and two soldiers injured.
The incident began when a police officer, identified only as AK, was reported to have beaten Leo Almon, a local resident who was allegedly drunk.
News of the alleged beating spread to Daboldi, a kampung in Kalomdol district where Leo hails from, angering local residents who went on a rampage and set the police station ablaze.
Two cars belonging to Pegunungan Bintang Police chief and his deputy and 25 motorcycles were destroyed in the incident, which took place at 10:45 a.m. local time.
Papua Police spokesman Sr.Comr.I Gede Sumerta Jaya denied allegations that a police officer had mistreated a local.
“The fact is, a police officer took a local who was allegedly drunk into custody. He then fought with a police officer and was injured,” said Sumerta Jaya in Jayapura on Sunday.
“It was his wounds that led to the rumor that he had been cruelly mistreated, sparking the anger of locals from his kampung,” he added.
Security officers attempted to disperse the mob, resulting in a clash that left two police officers injured. They were taken to the hospital. An Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) member, First Lt.Angga, and colleague Second Pvt.Bambang were also injured in the incident.
“They were injured by stones thrown by locals during the clash when they tried to break up the fight,” Cendrawasih Military Command spokesman Col. Jansen Simanjuntak told The Jakarta Post.
Calm returned to Oksibil in the afternoon, but local people remain afraid to leave their homes.




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