Student arrested for stabbing

TANGERANG (JP): Local police arrested a 16-year-old senior high school student for allegedly stabbing to death a student from another school during a street brawl on Thursday, an officer said.

The head of the Tangerang Police detectives unit, Capt. Krisnandi, announced here on Friday that Didi was arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death Andi Purnama Sidi, also 16, of SMKN I Cikupa vocational school. The stabbing allegedly occurred during a midday brawl between students from SMKN I and SMUN I senior high schools in front of the Citra Raya housing complex in Cikupa.

"We apprehended Didi on Thursday evening based on testimony from five students we arrested immediately after the brawl," he said.

The officer, however, refused to disclose which school Didi attended, saying such information could spark a revenge attack from Andi's classmates.

According to students involved in the brawl on Thursday, in which another student was also injured, the fight was ignited by an incident the previous day, when a number of SMKN I students who were on their way home had their way blocked by students from SMUN I.

A group of SMKN I students then planned to retaliate against the SMUN I students, confronting the latter in front of the entrance gate to the Citra Raya housing complex.

Both school principals, Sudirja of SMKN I and Dedy Sutyono of SMUN I, said they knew nothing about the causes of the brawl.

They said a dispute between students from the two schools occurred two months ago but was peacefully settled.

Both schools are run by the state.

Krisnandi said his men were still trying to locate the knife allegedly used by Didi.(41/bsr)