Man burned to death for theft

Man burned to death for theft

TANGERANG: Residents of Mekar Jaya, Serpong, burned a man to
death late on Sunday for allegedly attempting to steal a
motorcycle belonging to a member of a polling station committee.

The dead man, identified as Jumroni, 24, a resident of
Carenang, Cisoka district, was reportedly caught red-handed with
another man making off with the motorcycle, which was parked near
a newly-erected polling station, at about 10:30 p.m.

The motorcycle's owner, Yahya, said he and other committee
members were attending a coordination meeting on the final
preparations for the legislative elections on Monday.

"It was only a few minutes after I arrived when I saw the two
men taking my bike. I spontaneously shouted 'thief'," Yahya said.

Local people chased the pair and managed to pull the dead man
off the back of the motorcycle. They then set him alight after
dousing him with gasoline.

The man was already dead by the time the police arrived, and
his remains were later sent to the morgue at Tangerang General
Hospital.

"I regret that these residents felt it necessary to take the
law into their own hands," Serpong Police chief Adj. Comr.
Kostbar said, but failed to confirm whether any members of the
mob would be prosecuted. -- JP