Pickpocket-bus crew quarrel turns violent<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The dispute between a pickpocket and the crew of
\na public transport company bus in the crowded Kampung Rambutan
\nbus terminal in East Jakarta erupted into a heated inter-ethnic
\nclash on Wednesday evening, leaving at least one man dead and
\nseveral others injured.<\/p>\n
The mob also burned and vandalized, among other things, two
\nbuses, two taxis, a number of street vendors handcarts, a tire
\nrepair service shop and several shelters normally used as
\nrecreation places for bus crews in the vicinity of the terminal.<\/p>\n
The tension quickly spread to the city's other bus terminals,
\nwhere the warring ethnic groups usually work together peacefully.<\/p>\n
But as of last night no further clashes arising from the
\nKampung Rambutan incident were reported in other places.<\/p>\n
The Kampung Rambutan incident however left hundreds of
\ncommuters heading to East Jakarta from various points in Central
\nand West Jakarta stranded as no buses were available.<\/p>\n
The electricity supply at the Kampung Rambutan terminal was
\nturned off. At least four armored vehicles were seen at the
\nterminal.<\/p>\n
A source at the Cipto Mangunkusomo General Hospital identified
\nthe victim only as M. Flores Sihite, 23.<\/p>\n
\"His body, which arrived here at about 8 p.m., was covered in
\nwounds. He might have been badly beaten by a mob,\" the source
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis,
\nthe ethnic conflict was sparked by a minor incident the previous
\nday at the terminal when an unknown pickpocket, identified only
\nas Batak (an ethnic group of North Sumatra), was caught red-
\nhanded on a Mayasari bus by its crew.<\/p>\n
Lubis did not specify the ethnic identity of the crew but
\nsecurity officers said that they were probably from West Java and
\nPalembang in South Sumatera.<\/p>\n
The pickpocket was then reportedly mobbed by some of the bus
\ncrew and the commotion was heard by the suspect's fellow Bataks
\nin the terminal who rushed to the site in the company of a member
\nof the Armed Forces (ABRI) to offer help.<\/p>\n
Their arrival, however, transformed the incident into a
\nserious brawl.<\/p>\n
\"At least two people, both friends of the pickpocket, received
\nstab wounds during the clash,\" officer Lubis said.<\/p>\n
He identified the two as Robert Panggabean, 25, and Jahidin
\nTampubolon, 23. They were rushed to the nearby Pasar Rebo
\nHospital but were discharged shortly after receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
In the evening, a group of 75 Mayasari bus crew men thronged
\nto a residential compound near the terminal, which then sparked a
\nfresh dispute between the two parties, he said. (emf\/jun\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pickpocket-bus-crew-quarrel-turns-violent-1447893297",
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