Gun blows up inside trousers

JAKARTA (JP): A man was accidentally shot and wounded in his left thigh and right arm at a mall in Depok on Wednesday morning after an FN 42 gun belonging to his Army friend accidentally blew up inside the pocket of his trousers.

The man was identified as Benny Erlawan, 23, of Kalimati area in West Jakarta. The incident itself took place at about 2:50 a.m., in front of the closed Monggo Mas shop in Depok Mall, south of here.

Police said the gun belonged to a friend of the victim, Second Sgt. Heri Rudiyanto, from the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis stated that the motive of the illegal lending of the lethal weapon from a serviceman to a civilian was still under investigation.

"The gun was temporarily entrusted to the victim, who then put it inside his pocket.

When he was about to sit down, the gun accidentally blew up," Lubis said.

According to Lubis, the green beret Kostrad member could face charges for breaching military discipline.

Lubis insisted that guns for military and police members are just like (other) wedded wives and therefore should be carefully handled and not easily handed over to other people.

"But it's still unclear on what purpose the gun was entrusted to the victim," he said.

The serviceman, he said, was not at the scene when the accident occurred but surrendered himself to a nearby police station for accountability. (emf)