Two killed at fish market

JAKARTA (JP): A fisherman and his nephew were attacked and killed by about 20 people at the Muara Angke fish market in North Jakarta early yesterday.

Usman, 36, and his nephew Alang, 30, of Penjaringan district had suffered severe wounds and almost all of their fingers were missing.

A forensic staffer of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said different types of sharp weapons and blunt objects had been used in the attack.

"We've found fragments of glass... wood and bricks in their wounds," forensic expert Bambang H.P. said.

As of last night, police had not commented on the killing but a relative of the victims quoted a police source as saying that the men were attacked after a small dispute between the victims and an unidentified fisherman.

The clash took place about 1 a.m. but nobody knew what the dispute was about, Arpan, who identified himself as Alang's father, said.

"There were about 20 people opposing the victims," he quoted a police source as saying.

The angry mob stopped only after the victims were laying on the street and local police officers passed by.

Arpan, 54, who is Usman's brother, could shed little light on the dispute.

"Police told me that the incident was believed to have been sparked by a competition and business matters between them, nothing personal," he said.

Arpan admitted that his younger brother had once been jailed in North Sumatra for pick pocketing. (04)