Passerby dies in altercation

Passerby dies in altercation

JAKARTA (JP): A cleaning service worker from the Ministry of
Defense and Security was killed by a shot from an air rifle when
he got caught in a clash involving residents of Manggarai, South
Jakarta, early on Sunday morning.

Sutrisno, 40, was on his way home at about 1 a.m. when he was
trapped between rival groups of residents stoning each other, his
wife Nuraini said.

She said her husband tried to hastily walk through the area
and was passing the Manggarai railway station when he was struck
by an air rifle's bullet in his chest.

The shot was believed to have come from the residents, she
said.

Several people rushed to help him and took him to the Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.

Sutrisno reportedly died during the journey.

"I was told later that my husband passed away on the way to
the hospital," Nuraini was quoted by Antara news agency as
saying.

According to a worker at the hospital morgue, Syafei, the
cause of Sutrisno's death had yet to be determined.

An autopsy conducted by forensic expert Siswandi stated that
the cause of his death remained unclear, he told The Jakarta
Post.

Syafei said the morgue received the body at about 3 a.m., two
hours after the shooting reportedly took place.

Sutrisno's relatives claimed his body at about 5 a.m. for
burial, he added.

A Manggarai resident, Suprayitno, said the recurrent clashes
between two neighboring residential groups in Manggarai had
persisted for years for obscure reasons.

Reconciliation efforts, such as going on picnics together, had
failed to bring them together.

"All the efforts seem hopeless," he said.

During the clashes, he said, the residents had not only armed
themselves with stones, but also carried sharp and blunt
instruments such as arrows and wooden blocks. (jun)