31 May 2012

German man shot at Papua beach

12:39 pm on 31 May 2012

A German man who was shot three times on a beach in the capital of Indonesia's Papua province on Tuesday is in a stable condition in Jayapura General Hospital.

Dr Dietmar Pieper, a German biologist aged 55, remains in intensive care, guarded by four policemen.

The Papuan Human Rights organisation Elsham has been given details of the incident from Dr Pieper's wife, Eva Pachon, who witnessed the shooting.

Ms Pachon says that she and her husband were sitting under a shelter on the beach when they noticed an SUV vehicle passing back and forth.

The vehicle then stopped and a bearded man, described as an ethnic Papuan, wearing a camouflage jacket and hat, came out and started walking towards them.

From ten metres away he then shot Dr Pieper, twice in the thigh and once in the torso, before returning to his vehicle.