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‘Syringe terror’ prompts Papua Police to intensify security
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A hand in a glove holding a syringe. (Shutterstock/File)
J
ayapura Police will intensify security measures in the Papuan city on the heels of reports that several residents have fallen victim to random syringe attacks while riding motorcycles or walking on the street.
The unidentified perpetrators reportedly usually target women on motorcycles or pedestrians.
Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Tober Sirait said his office had investigated the shocking incidents to ascertain the motives of the attacks and content of the syringes. The police have sent blood samples drawn from victims to a forensics lab in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
“There is concern among the public that the syringes have HIV and the motive is to spread the virus,” Tober said Thursday.
Tober said rumors had circulated that many victims had gone to hospitals after being attacked, but many did not file a police report. Another rumor was that there were dozens who had been attacked, but they had neither reported the incidents to the police nor gone for a medical examination.
He said the police had only received reports from two victims, one of whom reported a syringe attack on Jan. 6 and the other on Jan. 13. “Both are women. The one on Jan. 6 said she was walking alone when a motorcycle cornered her and then [an individual] stabbed her in the back,” he said. The second one said she was struck with a needle while riding her motorcycle alone on the way to pick up her child from school. (evi)
