One student dies in high school brawl

JAKARTA (JP): A high school student died and at least three others were seriously injured on Friday in a brawl between students of Pelita High School and a state vocational high school.

The brawl which caused the death of 16-year-old Munawir Gazali occurred outside Pelita High School, on Jl. Achmad Yani in East Jakarta.

East Jakarta police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Agus Irianto said Munawir, a student of Pelita High School, died from excessive blood loss caused by a stab wound to the stomach.

"We're on the lookout for the student responsible for this murder...please give us time to investigate," Agus told reporters on Friday.

Agus added that one student of SMK Negeri in East Jakarta also had to undergo an operation at Persahabatan Hospital, in East Jakarta, due to the seriousness of his wound.

According to residents, Munawir was not even part of the brawl.

"He got down from a bus, and suddenly found himself stuck in the middle of the brawl. He was just about to enter his school...when suddenly some students surrounded him. When they finally dispersed, Munawir was holding his bleeding stomach," a police officer who normally secures the area, Irwanto, told reporters at the scene.

There was no immediate explanation for the brawl but Irwanto said students from the two schools have long been involved in a feud which led to frequent brawls.

A witness, Pelita school student Siti, said Munawir was alighting from a public bus in front of the school when the fight broke out.

She said Munawir was trapped in the brawling crowd and ended up falling prey.

Munawir, who was in first year, was rushed to Persahabatan Hospital.

The last fatality in a student brawl in the capital occurred in December, when a senior high school student was killed on Jl. Subur in Menteng Atas subdistrict, South Jakarta. Sixteen-year- old Heri Susanto died at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital after sustaining 14 stab wounds.

Heri and 13 of his friends were due to go home after watching a street motorbike race that took place on nearby Jl. Casablanca that early morning when some 60 youths intercepted them. (ylt)