Indonesian police apologizes for using snake to interrogate thief

JAKARTA (AFP) — Authorities in Indonesia on Monday have launched an investigation after a police chief admitted an officer wrapped a live snake around a terrified suspect in a bid to force a confession.

In a shocking video that has emerged online, an alleged thief — handcuffed and sitting on the floor barefoot — is seen screaming hysterically as an officer shouts abuse at a police station in Papua province.

“How many times have you stolen a mobile phone?” he yells at the unidentified suspected thief.

“Only two times,” the suspect responds.

At one stage, the officer appears to try to shove a two-meter-long snake into the man’s mouth, while others are heard laughing in the background during the undated video.

“An officer is now being questioned by Papua police internal affairs division,” said Papua police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal on Monday.

“We apologize for the incident,” Kamal told AP. “Institutionally we do not recognize such an unprofessional method of interrogation, and we guarantee that such an inhuman method will not happen again in the future.”

Tonny Ananda Swadaya, the police chief in Jayawijaya district, where the incident took place, apologized in a statement on Sunday, but added the suspect was not in physical danger from the serpent, as it was “not poisonous.”

“The snake was tame and not poisonous or dangerous, and the incident was their own idea so they could get admission of guilt as quick as possible,” Swadaya said in a statement. “We will work more professionally in the future.”