Semarang thief burned alive

SEMARANG, Central: Mob justice took its toll on Friday morning when a group of people beat and burned alive a youth for allegedly stealing kitchen utensils.

Antara quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Inung, 20, was caught red-handed as he was about to make off with the stolen goods.

He was dragged to a field behind Sendangmulyo Hospital where the mob beat him, doused his body with kerosene and then set it ablaze, they said.

Eyewitnesses said Inung's scorched body was then left in the field until the police arrived on the scene.

Chief of South Semarang sector police, Sgt. B.S. Hadi Nugroho, who was at the scene of the crime, confiscated the cooking pan, spoons, forks, and other utensils as evidence.

A number of people at said Inung and two other friends frequently steal from residents of the housing complex in Rumpun Diponegoro IV, Mangunharjo district.