Another student dies in brawl

JAKARTA (JP): East Jakarta Police detectives are searching for suspects in the killing of 17-year-old student who was struck with a machete to death on Wednesday.

The student, identified as Anoos Fuadi, 17, was caught in the middle of a student brawl at HEK intersection on Jl. Raya Bogor, East Jakarta Police chief said.

Col. Hidayat Fabanxio said Fuadi, a student of vocational high school STM Respati in Kramatjati, was killed at about 10:30 a.m.

"He was waiting for a bus at HEK intersection. Suddenly, hundreds of school students came, and when they left, the victim was already dead, with a deep wound in the right side of his abdomen."

Separately, 30 city police patrol unit officers rounded up 131 students from four different schools on Wednesday. They were in the Blok M area and police suspected they were preparing for a mass brawl. They were taken by truck to city police headquarters.

Officers confiscated nine large sharpened machetes and two sharpened wooden sticks.

"The students said they had just finished school and wanted to enjoy themselves. We did not want to take any chances. Just look at the machetes they were carrying," an officer who requested anonymity said.

"These students carried the machetes in special knapsacks that were big enough for them to fit in."

The officer said 63 students were from vocational school SMK 35 in Kampung Jawa, Kota, West Jakarta, 49 from PGRI 12 high school in Kota, West Jakarta, 14 from PGRI 22 high school in Kampung Bali subdistrict of Central Jakarta and the remaining five students from Al Wasilah vocational high school.

"All were packed in Steady Safe public bus 904, which serves the Kota-Blok M route," the officer said.

Officers punished the students by ordering them to take off their school shirts, tie their shoes around their necks and squat on a tennis court under the sun at city police headquarters.

The students also were forced to run around the tennis court for at least two hours. (ylt)