Residents still fearful after brawl

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The area where locals clashed with hoodlums remained tense as of Wednesday, with residents fearful of leaving their homes. The brawl, which lasted from late Sunday to Monday morning, and which, according to police, involved some 1,000 locals, took place near H. Adam Malik Hospital in the town of Tuntungan, near Sunggal district.

Staff at the hospital said five hoodlums were killed in the brawl, while police said on Tuesday only one was killed. The dead were identified as Budiman Waruwu, Roni Ginting, Gulo, Jonathan Bangun and Zakaria Tarigan.

Residents said the brawl began when they resisted the hoodlums' extortion attempts. Police said locals attacked the thugs when a resident was wounded by an arrow fired by one of the alleged extorters.(39)