Truck driver found dead

TANGERANG (JP): A truck driver from yarn manufacturer PT Tifico was found dead on Wednesday night apparently after being stabbed by one of his colleagues at the firm's compound on Jl. Raya Serpong here.

Priyono, one of the witnesses, told police officers investigating the incident that the victim, identified as Bastianus, 36, was stabbed in his neck following petty gambling just after work.

Priyono said that he did not know how the killing happened. "When were about to go home from work, I found Bastianus near the company's gate in a pool of blood," he said.

"Upon learning that the victim was in a critical condition, we alerted nearby residents and contacted the police to inform them about the incident," he said.

Bastianus was rushed to the Tangerang General Hospital, but he died before receiving medical treatment possibly due to severe loss of blood from his wounds, he said.

Police said that five witnesses had been questioned, but another, identified as YN, who was believed to have stabbed the victim with a machete, had fled the scene of the incident.

It was still unclear what the motive of the stabbing was, Capt. Krisnadi, head of the Tangerang police's detective unit, said. (41/hhr)