Mother's wish causes toddler's death

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

It was dawn on Friday and three-year-old Aditya would not stop crying. His mother, 28-year-old Lestari, could not stand the noise and asked her brother-in-law, Herman, to buy Aditya a bowl of chicken porridge.

Fulfilling Lestari's wish, Herman took Aditya on his motorcycle leaving the house on the Karang Anyar village, Karang Sari subdistrict, to buy the porridge. Lestari never thought that it would be the last time she would see her son alive.

On Jl. Simpang Tujuh in Rawa Kucing subdistrict, Tangerang, Herman lost his balance attempting to pass a Garuda Indonesia bus carrying airline workers. Both hit the asphalt but Aditya was thrown in the path of the bus, its rear tire crushing his head.

He died instantly. His body was later taken to the Tangerang General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Residents, who saw the traffic accident, became furious and set the bus on fire.

The bus driver, Zulkifli Siregar, 43, said he was not aware that Aditya fell from the motorcycle and was thrown beneath the vehicle.

"I just heard people standing along the road screaming. When I got out of the bus, the people were still shouting while pointing at the rear tire," he said.

When Zulkifli realized that Aditya had been killed, he tried to pacify the angry mob. "Calm down, I will be responsible," he shouted in panic.

Several policemen, who were directing traffic at the intersection, helped the driver get away from the mob. At the same time, the angry people set the bus on fire after ordering the Garuda employees to leave the vehicle.

The employees continued their journey to work on public minivans at 6 a.m.

Lestari and her husband Rohadi, who both work at Soekarno- Hatta International airport, were too traumatized to speak to reporters.

Herman, Zulkifli and eyewitness Dady were still being questioned at the Tangerang Police Precinct on Friday afternoon.