Man drowns while evading guard

JAKARTA: An unidentified man drowned late on Monday in the Jati Kramat river in Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, after running from an on-duty security guard.

Hasan Saefuddin, who was guarding a housing complex in the area, said he had approached the man, who was sitting alone on the riverside, and had attempted to address him.

"He suddenly ran off when I came toward him, I don't know why. I chased after him, and he fell into the river and started floundering. I tried to help him, but he floated into the middle of the river," he said.

The man's body is now at the morgue of state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Central Jakarta. -- JP