No trace of Gerald Sokoy, a health worker who went missing after a Papuan terrorist group attacked a Kiwirok public health center on September 13, 2021, had been found as of Friday, Papua police chief said.
Insp.Gen.Mathius D. Fakhiri said he, therefore, could not confirm the reliability of reports posted on social media platforms saying that Sokoy had been taken hostage by the separatist terrorists.
“We cannot yet make sure whether the reports are reliable or not, and we cannot confirm Gerald Sokoy’s condition either,” he told ANTARA in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, on Friday.
According to information posted on social media platforms, the Lamek Taplo-led armed group will free Sokoy through a local church so he can reunite with his family, he said.
However, the reliability of the information has not been confirmed yet, he added.
Security personnel stationed in Kiwirok sub-district, Pegunungan Bintang district, Papua province have not yet confirmed the credibility of reports on Sokoy’s release posted on social media platforms, Fakhiri said.
The search for Sokoy has continued, but security personnel have yet to locate his whereabouts, he added.
On the morning of September 13, 2021, several members of the Lamek Tablo-led separatist terrorist group had reportedly torched several public facilities, including a public health center, and homes in Kiwirok.
The separatist terrorists also got into a gun fight with Indonesian security personnel during which one army personnel sustained minor injuries on his right arm after a bullet ricocheted and struck him.
The wounded army personnel has been identified as 1st Private Ansar from the 403/WP Infantry Battalion.
The Papuan terrorists also reportedly assaulted and tortured several health workers from the Kiwirok Public Health Center.
A female healthcare worker, identified as Gabriela Meilan, died after being tortured by the terrorists, said officials.
On September 17, 2021, the wounded soldier and nine healthcare workers who survived the terrorists’ brutality were evacuated from Kiwirok sub-district in Pegunungan Bintang district to Jayapura city.
The health workers have been identified as Lukas Luji, Marthinus Deni Setya, Siti Khotijah, Dr.Restu Pamanggi, Marselinus Ola Atanila, Patra, Emanuel Abi, Katrianti Tandila, and Kristina Sampe Tonapa.
The evacuees were transported on a Caracal transport military helicopter to the capital of Papua province to Marthen Indey Hospital for medical treatment.
Source: Antara News