Burglar killed

JAKARTA (JP): An unidentified transvestite was beaten to death in Cipinang district, East Jakarta, for allegedly breaking into a house and attempting to burglarize it, according to police.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday the suspect had allegedly forced his way into the house of Widodo in Taman Cipinang Timur housing complex at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

"The house owner said he saw the transvestite with the stolen goods, including a clock, some clothes and bras, in the living room," Aritonang said.

"The suspect panicked and ran out of the house followed by the house owner who screamed 'thief, thief'," he said.

A crowd of locals ran after the suspect, caught him and beat him not far from the crime scene, he said.

The police were unable to obtain the suspect's name from him because he was in a critical condition by the time they arrived on the scene, Aritonang said. He died on the way to the hospital.

A source at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's morgue in Central Jakarta said yesterday afternoon that nobody had come forward to claim the body. (cst)