Two minibuses set ablaze

JAKARTA (JP): A mob in Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta set ablaze two Metro minibuses on Monday afternoon after one of them fatally crushed a 14-year-old boy in the area.

"The first minibus plying the Pondok Kopi-Senen route hit Wisnu, a junior high school student, on Jl. Cempaka Putih Barat. The boy was about to stop the bus," First Sgt. Hikmat of the Cempaka Putih subprecinct police said.

Wisnu, a student of SMP 136, died on the spot instantly.

"The minibus driver, Zaenudin, 24, was then beaten by thousands of residents in the neighborhood," Hikmat said.

The police at first found it difficult to enter the crime scene, he added. Zaenudin was rushed by the police to the YARSI Islamic hospital but later died there.

The mob also burned another Metro minibus, plying the same route, which was behind the first bus at the time.

The driver, however, managed to escape. All the passengers were unharmed. (01/05)