Car thief beaten to death

Car thief beaten to death

JAKARTA (JP): A suspected car thief lost his life after he was
caught following a dramatic two-hour chase and brutally beaten by
angry residents and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers of Jl. Otista
and the Kampung Melayu area in East Jakarta on Monday evening.

Tebet Police chief of detectives First. Lt. Supangat
identified the dead suspect as Arrafiq, 18, a student and a
resident of Sungai Begug village in Semper district, North
Jakarta.

"Residents and ojek drivers saw the suspect use a T key to rob
a blue Kijang van parked in front of the East Jakarta Sports
Stadium on Jl. Otista, at about 8 p.m. on Monday," Supangat told
reporters on Tuesday.

He said the suspect drove toward Tebet in South Jakarta, via
Jl. Otista, Jl. Casablanca and then Jl. Tebet Utara.

"Due to one-way traffic on Tebet Utara, the car could not
move. The terrified suspect got out of the car and tried to run
away, but the residents and ojek drivers kept following and
caught up with him at about 10 p.m. They beat him up so badly, he
was hardly alive," Supangat said.

Tebet Police immediately rushed the suspect to Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital, but Arrafiq died on the way. (ylt)