Factory worker beaten to death

JAKARTA (JP): A shoe factory worker in Kalideres, West Jakarta, was beaten to death by nine of his neighbors in the early hours of Saturday, possibly following a quarrel.

A Kalideres Police subprecinct officer said the victim, identified as Taufik, 27, of Tebing Tinggi, South Sumatra, was mobbed near the house he rented on Jl. Tegal Alur in West Jakarta at about 2 a.m.

"The men ran away after beating Taufik with wooden sticks, leaving him collapsed on the ground," the officer, who asked for anonymity, said.

He said local residents rushed Taufik to hospital but he died on the way.

Police arrested the nine suspected men at the houses they rented after a report from local residents, the officer said.

Police found the wooden sticks used to beat the victim in the well of one of the houses, he said.

Residents said that Taufik had quarreled with the suspects several days earlier, according to the officer.

"The suspects were probably still angry with the victim and tried to take revenge. But we are still questioning them," he said.

Taufik's body was sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The morgue also received two other bodies believed to have been murdered in separate incidents on Saturday.

One of them, identified as Hasan, 25, a resident of Pulo Gadung in West Jakarta, died of multiple stab wounds.

The second man also died of stab wounds. He has yet to be identified. His body was found in Kembangan, West Jakarta. (jun)