Man dies when mistaken for ghost

KEBUMEN, Central Java: A mentally ill man has been killed by his neighbors who mistook him for the ghost of a white-shrouded corpse that drinks baby's blood.

Agus, 32, was bathing in a river at dusk Monday when neighbors from Bumiayu village attacked him. He died Tuesday in Muhammadiyah hospital in Gombong.

The incident occurred amid reports that thieves in white shrouds were scaring away people to rob them.

Villagers took the rumors seriously, and organized neighborhood night patrols. (wah)