Suspected arms thief dies in custody of military
Suspected arms thief dies in custody of military
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua
Yapenas Murib, 35, one of four civilians suspected of involvement
in the theft of arms at the a military district headquarters in
Wamena on March 4, died on Tuesday.
Yapenas's death caused confusion as he had supposedly no
health problems moments before when he reconstructed how he and
other suspects helped rebels break into the Army arsenal.
Dr. Setyo Nugroho, who examined Yapenas' body, said the
suspect died of a respiratory problem.
Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal, chief of the Trikora Military Command
overseeing security in the province, confirmed that the suspect
died on his way to the general hospital in Wamena at 6:05 p.m.
local time on Tuesday.
"Yapenas' body has been handed over to his family for burial,
but the investigation into the case will continue," he said,
adding that the suspect had developed breathing problems moments
after eating lunch after the reconstruction of the crime.
Yapenas, along with three other civilians, was arrested
last Wednesday after being implicated in the fatal attack on two
on-duty soldiers and the theft of 29 rifles and thousands of
rounds of ammunition from the military district's arsenal in the
small town. Two soldiers and a rebel were killed in the attack.
Nineteen of the stolen rifles have been recovered.
No information has been released regarding the identities of
the three other suspects, nor of the rebels who reportedly stole
the arms.
The military is also questioning 20 soldiers on suspicion of
an insider job.
The Army has deployed 144 soldiers from the Army's Special
Forces (Kopassus) and the Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) to
help the local military track down and arrest at least 15 rebels
who stole the arms.
During military interrogation, Yapenas and three other
suspects confessed playing a part in the attack and the arms
theft.
Yohanis G. Bonay, coordinator of the coalition of local non-
governmental organizations monitoring the Wamena case, said he
would send colleagues to Wamena to investigate Yapenas' death.
"I cannot comment at the present, but let us investigate the
death to make sure that the suspect was not murdered," he said.