PNG prisoner dies in Indonesia

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
OFFICERS at the Doyo Prison in Indonesia discovered yesterday that a prisoner who died on Sunday was from Papua New Guinea, according to PNG consular-general Colonel Jeffrey Wiri.
Wiri told The National that the man who was imprisoned in June last year after he was caught with marijuana at Waris on the Indonesian side of the border had told authorities that he was an Indonesian.
“When he was caught by the Indonesian police officers, he had claimed that he was an Indonesian citizen from Waris which is just across the border from Imonda station. Imonda station is on the PNG side in the Vanimo-Green electorate of West Sepik.”
Wiri said he would provide more details on the man today.
He said after the prisoner died on Sunday, prison authorities took his body to Waris village. But the villagers told them he was a PNG citizen who had been pretending to be an Indonesian.
Sentani prison authorities reported the matter to the PNG consulate-general office yesterday afternoon.
“They sought our advice on the repatriation of the body back to PNG. We are arranging for the repatriation tomorrow afternoon.”
Meanwhile PNG prisoners in Doyo said some of them pretended to be Indonesians so that they could be released on parole.
Wiri said earlier there were 26 drug smugglers from PNG in Doyo.
“Under the Geneva Convention, we help to make sure they have good medical treatment and they don’t get harsh treatment from prison officials,” he said.