Boy on train roof electrocuted

JAKARTA: A boy who rode on the roof of an overcrowded electric train died of electrocution on Thursday morning at Jatinegara railway station in East Jakarta.

The victim was about 10 years old, and the body was immediately taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo general hospital in Central Jakarta, but by late afternoon no one had come to claim the body, according to an employee of the hospital's morgue.

Passengers sitting on the roof of a train or clinging to the doors are a common sight during peak hours here. Despite the danger, they prefer to take overcrowded trains than public transportation by road because it is cheap and quick. Many of them also do not pay the fares. --JP