9 houses burned in vengeance

9 houses burned in vengeance

JAKARTA (JP): Nine homes were set on fire and 17 others were
vandalized in Pisang Batu village in the Cibitung district of
Bekasi regency on Sunday by some 300 men from Kampung Baru
village, Tambelang district, the Bekasi Police chief said.

Lt. Col. Sutarman said on Sunday that no fatalities were
reported, but a woman, said to be over 100 years old, suffered
severe burns to a portion of her body.

"Her name is Sap. She was with her son Robby in the only home
which was still occupied. Frightened residents vacated the other
homes," Sutarman said.

He said at about 2 a.m., hundreds of angry screaming Kampung
Baru residents marched into Pisang Batu, armed with Molotov
cocktails, sticks and rocks.

"When the Pisang Batu residents heard the cries, they
immediately left the village, except Robby and his mother. Some
residents managed to drag Sap out of her burning house and threw
her into a nearby pool to put the flames out on her body,"
Sutarman said.

"Luckily, the fire was put out."

Sutarman said the attack was in retaliation of the murder of
Rochim bin Taman, a Kampung Baru resident, who was killed in
Pisang Batu on the night of June 3.

Rochim was visiting his girlfriend, Si Bule, in Pisang Batu at
the time. He left his girlfriend's house to buy a pack of
cigarettes, when some 12 men, led by a man named Oman, 20,
reportedly started to beat Rochim.

"Oman was crazy about Bule. In fear, Rochim ran to the house
of a chief of a neighborhood unit. He was pulled out by Oman's
friends. Oman then set him on fire," Sutarman said.

"Oman then went around the village, announcing on loud
speakers that he and his friends had just set fire to a
motorcycle thief." (ylt/08)