Thieves burned to death in Bekasi

JAKARTA (JP): Upset by a series of thefts in their neighborhood over the past few weeks, Bekasi residents of the Bintara Jaya housing complex burned two suspected thieves to death on Thursday.

The two men were spotted by a neighborhood watch personnel stealing an air-conditioner from a local telecommunications service shop at 3 a.m., Antara quoted the residents as saying.

The identities of the suspects remained unknown but residents said the two, who were burned with their motorcycle, were "still young".

According to the residents, the two suspects attempted to escape after being caught red-handed by the neighborhood watch member.

After being informed about the theft, scores of the complex occupants rushed to the scene but found that the suspects had already gone.

After a few minutes of searching, the residents found one suspect some 300 meters to the north of the scene and his accomplice 100 meters to the south.

The two were dragged back to the site and beaten by the residents.

A motorcycle parked near the scene and said to belong to the alleged thieves was set on fire by other residents.

As soon as the motorcycle fire was bigger, the angry people threw the two suspects into the blaze, ignoring the screams of the alleged thieves who were desperately begging for forgiveness. (bsr)