Policeman beats reporter, PWI condemns

PEKANBARU, Riau: A journalist filed a complaint with the Indonesian Journalist's Association (PWI) Riau Branch on Monday, saying that he was a victim of a physical assault perpetrated by a police officer.

Rinaldi, a journalist with Dumai Pos newspaper, said that he was hit in the face by Adj. Comr. Laksana, the chief of Mandau district police on Saturday, as he was having a conversation with a local politician at the Mandau district administration office.

Rinaldi alleged that the assault was apparently prompted by his recent report that a police officer under Laksana's supervision had fired a warning shot during a recent protest demonstration at local company PT ADEI. He wrote that the warning shot had caused unnecessary panic among the crowd. "He was apparently pissed off by that report," Rinaldi said.

Rinaldi, who was admitted to the hospital after the assault, demanded that the journalist association take up the investigation of the case, and help bring the police officer to justice.

In response, Sutriyanto, the chairman of PWI in Riau, said that the association condemned the assault, and it would immediately send a letter to the Indonesian police chief protesting the officer's behavior.

Separately, a spokesman for the Riau provincial police, Adj. Sr. Comr. S. Pandiangan said that the police would apologize for the incident and would later reprimand the police officer. -- JP