Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

PNG court jails Indonesian intelligence officer

Posted at 07:00 on 20 November, 2008 UTC

An Indonesian intelligence officer who pretended to be mentally retarded when captured illegally crossing the Papua New Guinea border has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Sebrum Doan, from West Papua, was jailed yesterday.

The newspaper, The National, says Doan will serve his sentence and then be deported.

Police charged Doan last month after he rode a motorbike into PNG without the necessary papers.

When police stopped him he pretended to suffer intellectual disabilities.

The Vanimo District Court also heard Doan had been under police surveillance for some time amid suspicions he was spying on West Papuans seeking refuge at PNG’s Black Wara camp after political unrest in the region.