Belu Resort Police Officer Brigpol Rogerius Roy Sonbay shot 18-year-old Gerson Yaris Lau alias Eton to death on 27 September 2022. Belu Resort Police claimed that they had put Eton on their wanted list (DPO, daftar pencarian orang) three weeks prior related to the assault of a water tank driver on 6 September 2022, in Fatubenao, Atambua City Village, Belu. The police accused the suspect of trying to escape when a joint team of the Belu Police Buser team and the Belu Police Intelkam Unit were about to make an arrest. Brigpol Rogerius Roy Sonbay chased him and fired three warning shots, but Eton ignored the warning. Brigpol Rogerius Roy Sonbay then pointed his weapon at Eton’s feet, but shot hit him in the back.
There are indications that the police violated procedures in arresting Eton. Based on criminal procedure in Indonesia, investigators must first make a legal summons to make an arrest. If he does not appear after the police summon him at least twice, then the police have lawful grounds to make forced efforts in the form of arrest. This summons must be in writing and clearly state the reason for the summons so that the recipient and their family can know their status as a reported witness or suspect. The summons must also pay attention to a reasonable period (normally three days) between the receipt of the summons and the day the recipient is required to fulfil the warrant.
Based on police information, Eton was a suspect in a crime that occurred on 6 September 2022. The police moved to arrest Eton on 27 September 2022. This means that the police carried out all procedures, from summoning and determining a suspect to arresting him in just 21 days. This is unusual in Indonesian police practice. According to the police statement, the DPO status had been in place since three weeks before the arrest, meaning that the police put Eton on the wanted list immediately after the crime occurred, rather than following the correct procedure of a prior summons.
According to Chief of the Belu Resort Police, AKBP Yosep Krisbiyanto on 30 September 2022, investigators have named Rogerius Roy Sonbay as a suspect in the shooting of Eton. Bidpropam Polda NTT has also conducted an ethics hearing and detained Rogerius Roy Sonbay. This rapid response was presumably due to strong pressure from the community. On the day of the shooting, hundreds of people transported the victim’s body from the hospital Belu Resort Police Office to demand accountability from the police.
Detailed Case Data
name of the location: Manleten (-9.12227901109, 124.9257855697)
administrative region: Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara, Belu Regency, Atambua District, Manleten Village
total number of victims: one
period of incident: 27.09.2022
perpetrator: police
perpetrator details: Belu Resort Police, East Nusa Tenggara
Issues: extra-judicial killings, torture
Sources: https://www.katantt.com/artikel/46154/kasus-anggota-buser-polres-belu-penembak-dpo-disidangkan-di-polda-ntt/, https://www.victorynews.id/ntt/pr-3314939162/viralkasus-polisi-tembak-warga-di-belu-polda-ntt-bidpropam-polda-ntt-sedang-tangani?page=2, https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20220927162147-12-853306/kronologi-penembakan-warga-di-ntt-versi-polisi, https://www.katantt.com/tags/Polda%20NTT/, https://www.victorynews.id/ntt/pr-3314983501/lawan-oknum-polisi-penembak-warga-belu-keluarga-tunjuk-pengacara-atambua-berkarya-di-bali?page=4, https://www.katantt.com/artikel/46154/kasus-anggota-buser-polres-belu-penembak-dpo-disidangkan-di-polda-ntt/
Further HRM News:
| Number | Name, Details | Gender | Age | Group Affiliation | Violation |
| 1 | Gerson Yaris Lau (Eton) | male | 18 | unknown | execution |
