German tourist shot in Indonesia's restive Papua

JAKARTA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A German tourist was shot by an unidentified person while resting in a cottage in Jayapura of Indonesia's Papua province on Tuesday, local media reported.

The German tourist, Pieter Dietmar Helmut, sustained serious injuries and was in critical condition as he was hit in the left thigh and the rib.

The shooting took place at 11.30 a.m. local time when Pieter was in the cottage with his wife Medina Pachon.

Pieter was rushed to the nearest Dok II hospital, the tribunnews.com reported.

Papua Police's head of Crime Investigator, Wahyono, confirmed the shooting, saying the police are undergoing investigation into the incident.

"We are still focusing the investigation. Our members are still studying the crime site at this moment," he said in Jayapura.

The restive province of Papua has witnessed a string of random shooting incidents, targeting at civilians working in foreign mines. The previous shootings were allegedly conducted by separatists demanding an independence state in Papua, separated from Indonesia.

Sourced: Xinhuanet