Hoodlums beat pedicab driver to death in North Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Police detectives are on the lookout for five hoodlums, in connection with the fatal mobbing of a becak (pedicab) driver, on Jl. Sungai Landak in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

North Jakarta Police chief, Sr. Comr. Andi Chaeruddin said on Friday that the police were questioning several fishermen in the Cilincing area who might have witnessed the murder.

"We are still investigating the case... We have not caught any suspects as yet," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Andi identified the victim as Suwanto, 38, a resident of Jl. Kelapa Dua in Cilincing subdistrict.

Former factory-worker Suwanto had just started driving pedicabs after the factory he worked at laid him off a month ago, Andi said.

Five drunken hoodlums mobbed Suwanto to death at around Thursday midnight, close to a sidestreet just off Jl. Sungai Lodan, in North Jakarta, Andi said.

Meanwhile, Cilincing Police subprecinct chief Comr. Taman Siswanto said on Friday that the incident began when two hoodlums had asked Suwanto to drive them to Arif Lane.

Upon reaching the requested destination, Suwanto asked them for the fare. Unexpectedly, the two men started to beat him up.

"Suwanto became very weak... but he still tried to fight off the two men," Taman said, adding that Suwanto made it clear to the hoodlums that he had to get paid.

Before he could fight back three other hoodlums arrived from nowhere and all five started beating him with a "blunt object."

Separately, Suwanto's elder brother, Suprapto, 40, said that Suwanto was rushed to Koja Hospital in North Jakarta, but the hospital could not save Suwanto due to lack of medical equipment, and instructed that Suwanto immediately be transferred to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

"But he died on the way," Suprapto told reporters at the hospital's morgue.

Suwanto's wife Suparni, 30, said that she was very upset, since she had no idea who was going to finance her daughters' school tuition fees in the coming future.

"My first daughter will enter senior school soon, and my second daughter is due to enter junior school this year," Suparni said. (ylt/01)