Pickpocket fatally mobbed at terminal

JAKARTA (JP): A mob at Kampung Rambutan intercity bus terminal in East Jakarta mobbed to death an alleged thief on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred at around 9 a.m. when bystanders at the terminal were alerted by the screams of a middle-aged woman, later identified as Suswati.

The resident of nearby Cipayung subdistrict told the crowd that her handbag had been stolen by a man, who was seen running through the lines of minibuses parked at the terminal.

Scores of bus crew, street vendors and commuters chased after and caught the man.

Finding the handbag in his possession, the crowd mobbed the man.

"So it's true that you're the pickpocket," a man said before hitting the alleged thief with a brick.

The mob ceased their attack only after terminal officials rushed to the site to disperse them.

The alleged thief died at the scene.

"It's better if he dies that way," the driver of a city bus said.

Local police, who arrived later, took the body to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for a postmortem examination. (emf)