Policeman dies while saving thief

Policeman dies while saving thief

Jakarta: An Indonesian policeman died and five other officers
were injured when their speeding getaway car smashed into a
telephone pole while rescuing an alleged thief from an angry mob,
news reports said on Thursday.

The accident occurred on Wednesday in Makassar, South
Sulawesi, 1,350 kilometers east of Jakarta, said Antara.

Police Second Brigadier Asruddin, the victim, was one of six
policemen who went to investigate a case of mob justice against a
robber, who had allegedly been caught red-handed.

The officers, all fresh graduates from the Makassar Police
Academy, managed to rescue the alleged thief from the mob and
shoved him into their car.

While rushing back to police headquarters at high speed, the
driver lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a telephone
pole and the curb before coming to a halt in a canal.

All passengers were thrown from the car in the crash, and
Asruddin died from his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Mob justice is quite common in Indonesia, where rural
communities often have little trust in the police's ability to
capture criminals and bring them to trial. -- DPA