Angry mob kills Navy officer

JAKARTA (JP): A member of the Navy met a tragic death on Sunday night while attempting to quell an intense war between two neighborhoods in Central Jakarta.

The sailor, identified as 24-year-old Mutiari Patiasina Penturi, was stabbed and incinerated by a gang of youths in the Kwitang neighborhood. His body was rushed to the Cikini hospital but he died of his wounds one hour later.

Sources at the Central Jakarta Police Precinct, which oversees the area, said they have apprehended seven of the 15 people believed to have been involved in the killing.

"They were arrested at different places during the wee hours today (yesterday)," said an officer, who requested anonymity. "We're still looking for the other members," he added.

Penturi, a member of the Navy's Western Armada based in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, was visiting a friend in Kali Pasir on Sunday afternoon when he was informed about clashes between Kali Pasir residents and their neighbors in Kwitang.

Conflict between the neighborhoods go way back and tend to recur, often over trivial matters.

Penturi, according to a preliminary investigation, felt dutybound to put an end to the clash and decided to visit the Kwitang neighborhood.

Arriving in plainclothes at around 7 p.m., he was greeted by a hostile reception with residents accusing him of defending the Kalipasir residents.

He was mobbed by the crowd, kicked and stabbed by more than 15 people. He was later dragged by the mob to an open field and soaked with gasoline and then incinerated.

Only then did the Kali Pasir residents came to his rescue, but by then it was too late.

"We found two stabs wounds and a number of bruises," the police officer said. "We found burns on his left arm."

The seven suspects arrested were identified as EP, IS, Rdn, Ys, Fd, AS and Al. They are between 21 and 36 years of age.

Police are now searching for the other suspects, whose identities they know. (bsr)