A young man while being investigated by Jayapura Police (Jubi)
Jayapura, 6/2 (Jubi) – A university student who was caught at the Sentani Airport carrying eight rifle bullets said he did not know who put the ammunition in his bag.
Security officers at the Sentani Airport found eight bullets in the bag of Kristianus Delgion Madai, a student at Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI) in Jakarta, on his arrival from Jakarta on Monday (1/2).
“I was shocked when the bullets were found, because it was not detected in the X-Ray when I was in Jakarta,” he said at the police station in Doyo Baru Sentani on Thursday (6/2)
He said he was on his way to Nabire but when transited at the Sentani Airport, he was stopped.
“I don’t believe it. I thought this is a prank, so I told to the airport officer to check my bag through the X-Ray for the second time,” said Kristianus, who said he was studying international relations.
He said he then gave the bullet to an airport officer and walked directly to the waiting room.
“When I was waiting the airplane at the transit hall, suddenly the police came and aked me to go to the nearest police station to solve the problem,” he said.
“Having only two hours transit before departure, I refused. But the police insisted that I go to the police station. So I was forced to go,” he added.
He explained that he has underwent two X-ray checks at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport but passed without incident.
“I don’t know the two passengers who were sitting next to me. But on the way, the passenger sitting in seat 23B asked me ‘where are you going?’ and I replied my destination is Nabire. Then he said he would go to Wamena,” he explained.
Madai said after the brief conversation he fell asleep with his bag under the seat.
“There was no space to put it in the cabin compartments because it’s full, so I had to put my stuff under the seat,” he said.
He said upon arrival at the Sentani Airport he wanted to go to the toilet but did not know where it was.
“I was confused at the Sentani Airport, so I opened my bag and put it on the ground and then I asked people where the toilet is,” he said.
After being told where to go, he lifted his bag and walked to the waiting room. “When I was walking to the waiting room, people said that my bag’s zipper was opened. I just immediately closed it and walked directly to the X-Ray machine, and later the bullets were detected,” he said.
Earlier, Sentani Airport police chief First Inspector Abraham Soumilena said a 30-year-old man who claimed to be an UKI student had been detained at the Sentani Airport police station after being caught with eight bullets.
Based on information collected by tabloidjubi.com, Kristian Delgion Madai was of Papuan students who took part in a protest against the foreign ministers from Melanesian countries at Jakarta’s Borobudur Hotel some time ago.
Their action has been described as anarchic by the ministers’ delegation.
However, the Director General of Asia Pacific and Africa Region, Yuri Octavian Thamrin, said there was no violent incident during the protest. He said the incident was attributed to poor coordination among security personnel around Sawah Besar near the Borobudur Hotel.
“We appreciate the students of Papua and Papua Barat for conducting a peaceful or non-violent demonstration. They only unfurled banners and posters in front of the MSG delegations – the most striking of which says “The West Papuan people support WPNCL to be a member of MSG” Yuri said.
He questioned the performance of the State Intelligence Agency that was entrusted to secure the visit. (Jubi/Hendrik OM/Victor Mambor/rom)
