Chairman Of The NTT DPRD Asks To Immediately Reveal The Case Of Beating Journalists

Chairperson of the DPRD for the Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Emelia Julia Nomleni/ Antara

KUPANG - The head of the DPRD for the Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Emelia Julia Nomleni, has asked the police to immediately reveal the alleged assault of an online media journalist with the initials FL in Kupang.

"The police need to immediately uncover this case because this will set a bad precedent for fellow journalists to work," he told reporters in Kupang, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, April 27.

He said this was in response to the alleged beating of online media journalists FL in Kupang by an unknown group of people on Tuesday, April 26.

Nomleni said that his party deeply regrets the assault against the press, which is a bad record for press freedom.

He asked the police in Kupang to immediately uncover the case by finding the perpetrators and their motives and processing them according to the applicable law. "I don't want this incident to make journalist friends worry when they have to get information and convey it to the public," he said.

FL journalists were allegedly attacked by an unknown number of people after reporting at the BUMD office belonging to the NTT Provincial Government, PT Flobamor, in Naikolan, Kupang.

FL explained that he was attacked by about six unknown people after attending a press conference related to BPK's findings on PT Flobamor's dividend of Rp. 1.6 billion.

The press conference was marked by a debate between a number of BUMD leaders belonging to the NTT Provincial Government and the media crew.

When FL and one of his colleagues were leaving the activity site by riding a motorbike for about 30 meters, they were suddenly attacked by a group of people who caused him to fall along with the vehicle they were riding.

"Before hitting someone shouted my name, possibly to be a sign for the perpetrators to gang up and abuse me at the scene," he said. FL, who suffered injuries to his face and chest, reported the incident to the Kupang City Police.