Suspect dies after alleged brutality

Suspect dies after alleged brutality

JAKARTA (JP): A 22-year-old man died on Tuesday due to
internal bleeding from injuries his mother alleged were caused by
beatings received during a police interrogation.

Nazarudin form Perumnas II, South Bekasi, was arrested last
Thursday for allegedly stealing a tape measure used by workers at
the Public Works Ministry.

A witness said that Nazarudin denied that he stole the tape
measure which he had given back to the workers at the ministry.
But he was beaten by them before they handed him over to the
police for questioning.

Endang, the head worker, assured the victim's mother that
Nazarudin was not fatally injured by the beatings, but
results of x-rays performed by the UKI hospital, where the victim
died, showed that his spleen was bleeding.

The victim's mother, Mrs. Iskandar, told reporters on Tuesday
that her son had told her how he had been mistreated by the
police during the interrogation.

"He lost consciousness and could hardly breathe when he
recovered," Iskandar said at the morgue. "There were bruises on
my son's forehead and stomach," she said, adding that she was
considering suing the police for brutality.

A police officer at the Bekasi precinct admitted that
Nazarudin had indeed been beaten during the questioning, but he
declined to elaborate. (01)