Motorcycle thieves killed by mob

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)