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Mob violence may be linked to child abuse, murder case

An angry mob burned down a traffic police post at the Sebok crossroads in Taliwang district, West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Sunday afternoon

Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post)
Mataram
Tue, May 19, 2015

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Mob violence may be linked to child abuse, murder case

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n angry mob burned down a traffic police post at the Sebok crossroads in Taliwang district, West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Sunday afternoon.

The mob was also involved in a brawl with the West Sumbawa Police and the NTB Police'€™s mobile brigade (Brimob), injuring a police officer and five civilians, the latter of which were shot with rubber bullets.

NTB Police spokesperson Adj. Comr. Amerun said the brawl was triggered by the alleged sexual abuse and murder of a six-year-old girl in Dalam subdistrict, Taliwang.

The girl was initially reported as missing on Wednesday and was found dead on Thursday night at a dormitory in Kuang subdistrict, Taliwang.

On Friday, the police detained a 12-year-old boy alleged to have sodomized the girl before killing her.

The police also detained the boy'€™s father for allegedly hiding the girl'€™s body and planning to dump it to get rid of the evidence.

Amerun said the father had escaped police detention, which had caused anger among the victim'€™s family and lead to hundreds of local residents attacking the police post.

'€œWe ended the chaos with warning shots,'€ Amerun told reporters in Mataram on Monday.

He said the five residents hit by rubber bullets were Toni Al Kasim, 33; Muhammad 21; Sudirman 35; Slamet Manto, 28; and Risi, 17.

All were from Taliwang district. The injured policeman was First Brig. Ahmad Fitri.

All had been treated at Taliwang RSUD hospital.

'€œThe police acted according to SOPs [standard operating procedure]. They fired warning shots but the mob ignored them,'€ Amerun said.

Separately NTB Police deputy chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Rudi P said conditions in Taliwang had returned to normal.

He called on people to not be easily provoked and allow the police to handle the case.

'€œThe situation in Taliwang is under control,'€ Bambang said.

He added that the alleged sexual abuse and murder of the girl had been under the West Sumbawa Police'€™s investigation.

The police were also continuing to search for the father while the boy had been sent to Mataram for a psychological examination.

Rudi also said that the attack on the police post would be investigated over concerns a third party had made use of the case for its own interests.

'€œThere is always someone behind the chaos. Someone must have paid them. We are now investigating those behind this act,'€ he said.

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