Bus set on fire in South Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Angry residents set fire to a Kopaja bus after it hit and killed an eight-year-old girl near a traffic light on Jl. Warung Buncit, South Jakarta yesterday.

A police sergeant at the South Jakarta Police precinct said the bus plying the Senen-Lebak Bulus route hit Dwi Handayani near the Jl. Warung Buncit-Pejaten Raya intersection at about 5 p.m.

"Dewi was rushed to the Pasar Minggu Hospital, but she died on the way," the officer said.

He said residents chased and surrounded the bus but the driver managed to escape.

Witnesses said the bus passengers urged the bus driver to stop after it hit the girl, who lived in Pekayon, South Jakarta.

The bus passengers fled when residents threw stones at the bus, smashing its windows.

Residents then set fire to the bus after they failed to overturn it.

A fire truck from the South Jakarta Fire Brigade extinguished the blaze at about 6 p.m.

The burned-out bus was towed to the South Jakarta Police precinct.

In Pasar Minggu, also South Jakarta, a fire gutted a handicraft shop on Jl. Raya Tanjung Barat on Sunday night, causing Rp 100 million (US$41,666) in material losses.

The fire, which started at 9 p.m., destroyed the shop of PT Usaha Dagang Indah Setia Mandiri which produced wooden crafts for export to the Netherlands, a police officer said.

Six fire brigades were deployed and extinguished the fire in an hour. (jun)