TEMPO.CO, Sumbawa - Scores of soldiers from the 1067 Sumbawa Army District Command have been seen standing guard in front of the West Sumbawa Police Station on Jl. Raya Maluk, West Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara since 2 a.m. on Monday following a protest by locals against the fatal shooting of a neighborhood unit (RT) chief by a policeman at 10:45 p.m. a day earlier.
According to Tempo’s observation, convoys of people arrived at the police station on Sunday night and later breached into and vandalized the police station, wreaking havoc.
Traffic in the vicinity of the police station was once blockaded by the police to prevent people from entering the area. “It was part of our preventive measures, because some residents on motorbikes just kept forcing to enter the area,” he said. The road, which is an access to PT Newmont mining site, has now been re-opened.
Earlier, Baharudin, 45, a resident of Pakirum, Sampir sub-district, Taliwang district, West Sumbawa regency, died after being shot by a policeman of the West Sumbawa Police.
AKHYAR M NUR
