Two killed by mob, no police action

BOGOR: Two suspected thieves were beaten to death by an enraged mob of villagers in Ciasihan, Bogor, on Thursday at 8:10 p.m. Both men -- identified as Ida Firmansyah bin Ada, 32, and Cecep, 30 -- were caught after allegedly stealing a television and five chickens from the house of a resident, identified as Nadi, of the nearby village of Menir.

The mob was reportedly extremely ferocious, due to suspicions that Ida and Cecep were behind a string of robberies in the area in which they were deemed overly violent, often using knives and injuring several of the victims that they robbed. After both men were rendered harmless the vigilante mob set Ida's body alight and watched it burn.

Cibungbulang police subprecinct chief, Second Insp. Parmin, stated that Ida was released from a 10-day jail term -- for previous armed robberies -- only a day before he was beaten and burned to death.

Despite the brutality of the attack, and hundreds of eyewitnesses, police had stated no intention of questioning or detaining any suspects involved in the gruesome double murder. -- JP