Intoxicated police officer ran over four road workers in Jayapura – one victim dies

A twenty-one-year-old police officer with the initials EN lost control of his police vehicle in the early morning of 4 May 2022 and ran over four people in the city of Jayapura, Papua Province. The four labourers were cleaning the road from the harbour to Argapura as the accident occurred. One of the workers, Mr Alwi, died as a result of the crash while Mr Dennis Krey, Mr Kilion Fairnap and Mr Neles Fairnap were injured and admitted to the General hospital in Jayapura.

The head of the Papuan Regional Police’s professionalism and security affairs division (Propam Polda Papua), Mr Sanchez Napitupulu, suspects that the driver was intoxicated as the incident occurred. The police are looking for the perpetrator who fled the crime site without providing assistance to the victims. Two of his colleagues, EN and YN, who were inside the police vehicle as the accident occurred, surrendered to the police shortly after the accident.  

Background

Human rights defenders continue to document cases of police violence and negligence in the provinces of Papua and Papua Barat. The lack of professionalism among police personnel in West Papua has been the subject of discussion among human rights observers. Human rights activists in Australia have launched the Make West Papua Safe Campaign to raise awareness on the issue of Police violence in West Papua calling on governments to evaluate foreign funding and capacity building measures for the Indonesian Police.    

Occasions in which police officers use excessive force or act negligently in processing violations against activists are no isolated incidents. According to the Papuan media outlet Jubi, a police officer with the initials AK tortured the street vendor, Mr Taman, in Timika on 13 April 2022. Officer AK tortured Mr Taman, punching him three times in the face. The vendor sustained bruises and swellings as a result of the attack. Members of the Propam division arrested the officer and initiated an internal investigation against the officer for violating the police code of conduct. The officer was reportedly intoxicated during the incident.

Detailed Case Data
name of the location: Jayapura
administrative region: Indonesia, Papua Province, Kota Jayapura
total number of victims: 4
period of incident: 04.05.2022
perpetrator: police
perpetrator details: police officers: driver’s name EN, 2 others in the vehicle: EN and YN
Issues: torture, extra-judicial killings
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