Police use snake in interrogation

Indonesian police apologized and pledged on Friday (February 8) to take disciplinary action after officers draped a live snake around the neck of a suspect to persuade him to confess during an interrogation session.

A video circulated online shows a man being questioned about stolen mobile phones yelling in distress as a snake is pushed towards his face by an officer. During the interrogation, a voice can be heard ordering the man to open his eyes and at one stage threatens to put the snake into his mouth and under his trousers. The incident happened on Jan. 15 in Jayawijaya — the eastern most area of Papua.

Papuan police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said the case was being investigated by the internal affairs unit and if violations of the law or code of conduct were proven, action would be taken. The Jayawijaya police chief also issued an apology.

Reports of human rights abuses by security forces often emerge from Papua, a former Dutch colony that was incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticized U.N.-backed referendum in 1969.