Courthouse torched, police assaulted during Rapa Nui unrest

An angry mob torches the courthouse on Rapa Nui. Image: Latercera Online/RNZ Pacific

By RNZ Pacific

Rapa Nui has been hit by serious disturbances after a family tried to lynch a homicide suspect, reports Chilean news media.

The news site Ahora Noticias reports that police were assaulted and injured, and a court building and a registry office in Hanga Roa were torched by the victim’s relatives.

Police had arrested a 51-year-old man accused of killing a 34-old-man with a knife.

The victim’s family then attacked the police vehicle with the suspect inside and set fire to the buildings.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.