Students tried for deadly attack

JAKARTA: Three students of the Jakarta Arts Institute went on trial at the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday for a fatal attack on a fellow student in March.

Defendants Asep Suryaman, Fajar Sugeng and Ali Gufron, along with four other defendants, who will be tried separately, allegedly mobbed Ardyles Bardi to death for stealing Asep's mobile phone, according to the indictment.

The defendants are accused of stripping off Ardyles' clothes and assaulting him in the student senate room on the campus, which is located at Jl. Cikini Raya No. 73 in Jakarta.

Ardyles was left lying unconscious on the floor outside the room. Other students took the victim to the nearby Cikini Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

If found guilty, the defendants could be given jail terms of up to 12 years.

Dozens of Jakarta Arts Institute students attended Thursday's hearing, which was presided over by judge I Nengah Suriada. -- JP