Six men arrested over fatal attack in South Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Cilandak police detectives in South Jakarta have arrested six men, including a high school student, believed to have fatally attacked two customers of a street food trader.

During the pre-dawn attack, one of the customers, identified as Mulat Sutrisno, 22, a private employee, died after being stabbed dozens of times. His friend, Rudy Budiarto, 26, a worker, suffered serious injuries.

The six suspects, aged between 16 and 24 years old, were arrested less than two hours after the incident, thanks to a sniffer dog from the Jakarta Police's K-9 squad, which easily tracked the suspects.

According to South Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Sisno Adiwinoto, the incident took place in front of the Circle-K supermarket on Jl. R.S. Fatmawati in Gandaria Selatan subdistrict at around 2:20 a.m. yesterday.

"A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects became upset when one of the victims brushed against a member of the group, who were waiting for the fried eggs they had ordered from the food vendor," said Sisno.

Because of the trivial incident, the two parties became involved in a heated argument that led to the fatal attack, the officer said.

The six suspects are believed to have jointly attacked the two men with their fists, bricks and shoes. Two of them allegedly used a box cutter and a knife to stab the victims.

When detectives arrived at a house which the K-9 dog had led them to, the parents of some of the suspects said their sons had been at the house all evening.

However, the parents could no longer argue when the detectives found clothes and sandals smeared with fresh blood inside the house.

A few minutes later, the other suspects were arrested at a nearby location.

Police also found the box cutter and bricks allegedly used to attack the victims.

The suspects, all of whom live in the area, are identified as Zainal Arifin, unemployed; Andi Suheri, a parking attendant; Abdullah, a senior technical school student; Muhamad Iyus, unemployed; Syahril, a night guard and Supriyanto, unemployed.

If found guilty, they could face a maximum prison term of seven to 15 years, depending on their roles in the incident. (bsr)