Gold miner shot dead in Bogor

Gold miner shot dead in Bogor

BOGOR (JP): Twenty-seven-year-old Aduy was shot dead by an
officer in the compound of Gunung Pongkor gold mine on Saturday.

Two officials who were suspected of being involved in the
shooting were questioned by the Bogor Military police, but no
names have been released.

Witnesses said Aduy was shot when the latter and a group of
miners were about to dig in a quarry belonging to PT Antam on
Pongkor Mountain.

"He just dropped dead. When we checked him there was a bullet
hole in his left chest," a worker said, adding that Aduy's body
was brought to PMI Hospital later that day.

Bogor Regional Police chief Col. Edi Darnadi confirmed the
incident, saying that the case was "politically motivated".

"There was another party who resisted the Police Mobile
Brigade who were securing the mine at Pongkor Mountain," Edi
said, adding that the bullet that hit Aduy was a .38 caliber,
while the brigade uses a SS-1 automatic rifle with 5.6 caliber
bullets.

For several years, poorly equipped gold miners have risked
their lives digging shafts in the Pongkor area to collect earth
from which gold is extracted.

The Pongkor Mountain has become a mass grave for scores of
unauthorized miners over the past few years.

However, this has not stopped others from filling their
places, as migrant miners flock from the West Java towns of
Sukabumi, Pelabuhan Ratu and other provinces, such as Lampung and
North Sumatra. (21/edt)