Motorcycle thieves killed by mob

TANGERANG (JP): Angry residents beat two men to death on Tuesday morning after apparently catching them attempting to steal a motorcycle in the Kenanga subdistrict of Cipondoh here.

The two men, one of whom has not been identified, were attacked at about 5 a.m. by the residents, who were alerted by the mother of the bike owner.

Suhanda, 40, allegedly saw the two men, who were riding a Yamaha RX King motorcycle, about to steal her son's bike from the garage of their house on Jl. Gang Mesjid.

Her son, Herman, had just parked the Kawasaki KAZE-R motorcycle in the garage about 30 minutes earlier, after driving his wife to the Husada Insani hospital, where she works as a nurse.

Suhanda quickly walked to a mosque about 15 meters from her home, where she alerted locals there who were about to perform Subuh, the predawn prayer.

Local residents from the mosque then rushed to Suhanda's house carrying lengths of wood and butcher's knives, while others blocked the road so the men could not escape.

"The thieves were beaten to death," Herman said.

Neighbor Saman said the residents were tired of motorcycle thieves, who he said had in the past always managed to escape from their village.

"Motorcycle thefts frequently happen in this area and the thieves always get away," Saman said.

Upon arriving at the scene, police expressed regret over the incident. Many people in and around Jakarta have resorted to dealing out their own punishment on suspected criminals in their neighborhoods.

One of the beating victims was identified as Asmi, 24.

The bodies were brought to Tangerang General Hospital for postmortem examinations prior to burial. (41/ylt)