Flores shooting death toll rises to six

Flores shooting death toll rises to six

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The death toll from a demonstration
that went awry rose to six on Wednesday, as a 45-year-old man
died in the hospital due to complications suffered after being
shot by the police last week in Manggarai regency on Flores
island.

The victim was identified as Frans Atuk, 45, a resident of
Biting subdistrict in the regency. He was in critical condition
at Ruteng hospital in Manggarai for the past week, but doctors
could not save him.

"He was one of some 400 people who descended upon and attacked
Manggarai police precinct last week," according to the spokesman
for the East Nusa Tenggara provincial police Comr. I Wayan Dana.

The demonstrators became agitated after the police rejected
their demand to release their seven colleagues who were
previously arrested for trying to plant coffee in a protected
forest, which prompted the police to open fire into the crowd,
killing five instantly and wounding dozens more.

Frans Atuk was shot in the back. The other people killed in
the incident were Frans Magur, 60, Yoseph Tafuk, 23, Vitalis
Jarut, 23, Domi Amput, 40 and Maksimus Toi. At least 10 people
have been named suspects, all of them demonstrators. -- JP