Man dies after police beating

DEPOK: Pujianto, 38, died on Tuesday of severe injuries caused by police beating last week, witnesses said.

According to a neighbor who treated the deceased, Pujianto was beaten by three drunken policemen at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 30 in Puri Depok Mas housing complex on Jl. Raya Sawangan, Depok.

The policemen were enraged when Pujianto thumped the private car of one of them to the beat of a song being belted out by a group of street musicians.

On his dying bed, Pujianto said he ran away and was found unconscious by neighbors in the morning near Jemblongan River, Tanah Baru, Pancoranmas district, Depok.

"He refused to file a report at the police station, because he was scared. He also refused to be brought to hospital and only took traditional herbal medicine and the services of a traditional masseur. He may have died because he did not seek proper treatment," the neighbor told The Jakarta Post.

Pujianto is survived by three children as his wife died last year after a miscarriage.

Depok Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Raja Erizman could not be contacted for comment. -- JP