Soccer fan shot dead in robbery

Evi Mariani, Jakarta

A 24-year-old man, Tarmudi, was killed early on Thursday morning after buying coffee at a stall near his house to stay awake for the Euro 2004 soccer match between Portugal and Russia.

Tarmudi left his house in the Serua Poncol housing complex in Ciputat, Tangerang, shortly after the earlier Euro match between Spain and Greece ended at about 1 a.m. The victim, riding a motorcycle belonging to his uncle, Nurdin, was accompanied by a cousin, Tuti Alawiyah, 18.

As they were returning home, Tarmudi and Tuti passed two men riding on a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction. The two assailants performed a U-turn and gave chase after the victims, eventually cornering them.

One of the men pointed a gun at Tarmudi and told him to get off his motorcycle. Tarmudi refused and the man shot him in the stomach.

Despite his wound, Tarmudi was able to speed off on his motorcycle, getting about 20 meters away before losing his balance and crashing.

Tuti then began yelling for help, apparently scaring away the robbers, who fled the scene.

Acoy, a resident, heard Tuti's shouts and ran out of his house to find the pair in the street. He drove Tarmudi and Tuti to a nearby clinic, but Tarmudi died en route.

Tuti reported the shooting to the Ciputat Police. Detectives were deployed to the scene, accompanied by Tuti to identify the suspects.

As of Thursday afternoon, police were still searching for the suspects.