After man dies in crocodile attack in Papua, enraged crowd kills 300 animals out of revenge
The reprisal took place after the victim’s funeral. Sugito, 48, died after falling into the enclosure of a crocodile farm whilst looking for grass to feed his cattle. Apologies and compensation were not enough. Hundreds of relatives and local residents overwhelmed police and officials and attacked the farm armed with knives, machetes and shovels.
Sorong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – An angry mob slaughtered some 300 crocodiles in the province of Papua, after a local resident was killed by crocodiles, the authorities report today. The reprisal took place two days ago, at the end of the victim's funeral.
The man died after falling into the enclosure of a crocodile farm, whilst looking for the grass to feed his cattle. Sugito, 48, was bitten to one leg and then killed when hit by the tail of one of the crocodiles.
Angered by the proximity of the farm to the residential area, Sugito's relatives and locals marched to the police station.
Bassar Manulang, head of the local conservation agency, said that the farm had agreed to pay compensation.
"We made an agreement with the victim's family and conveyed our condolences," he added.
However, the crowd, made up of "hundreds of people", was not satisfied. It went to the crocodile farm armed with knives, machetes and shovels and killed 292 reptiles. Outnumbered, law enforcement officials say they could not stop the attack.
The authorities state that investigations into the reptile slaughter are still underway. "For now, we are still questioning the witnesses," said Dewa Made Sidan Sutrahna, the police chief in Papua's Sorong district.
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