Military members ill-treat civilians inside karaoke bar in Merauke

An Indonesian military member named Major Sergeant HW and four of his comrades allegedly ill-treated a group of civilians inside a karaoke bar in the Samkai village, Merauke Regency, on 15 January 2022. According to news outlet CNN Indonesia, the military officer was intoxicated and started a fight with another guest who allegedly recorded him with his mobile phone inside the karaoke bar. Sergeant HW reportedly attacked and forced him to erase the video. Witnessing the attack, other visitors stepped in and collectively dragged the military officer outside the bar.

Thereupon, Sergeant HW, informed four of his comrades who came to the bar and collectively ill-treated multiple guests inside the bar. The attack was meant as an act of retaliation for throwing Sergeant HW out of the karaoke bar. The spokesperson of the XVII Cenderawasih military command, Colonel Aqsha Erlangga (see photo, source: screenshot taken from Kompas TV), claimed that Sergeant HW is currently under investigation by the military police. He added that the conflict parties agreed to settle the case outside of the law.

Detailed Case Data
Location: Samkai
Region: Indonesia, Papua Province, Merauke, Merauke
Region: Indonesia, South Papua, Merauke, Merauke
Total number of victims: unknown

# Number of Victims Name, Details Gender Age Group Affiliation Violations
1. 1 unknown
male unknown torture
2. unknown unknown
unknown unknown torture
Period of incident: 15/01/2022 – 15/01/2022
Perpetrator: Indonesian Military (TNI)

Perpetrator details: Major Sergeant Serma HW

Issues: security force violence