According to the police, an alleged robber met his demise in Cipinang, East Jakarta, yesterday after he was killed by a home owner ostensibly well-schooled in the martial arts at the end of a (preposterously) long duel.
On Monday morning, the unidentified robber broke into a house owned by Deni Rono — who happens to be a master of a local school of the Indonesian martial arts pencak silat called Merpati Putih — while it was empty. When Deni returned, police said the two engaged in a 30-minute duel (which sounds rather lengthy for a real life duel, but we’ll take the police’s word for it).
“That’s right, the suspect died after a duel with the house owner,” said East Jakarta Police Chief Andry Wibowo, as quoted by Detik yesterday.
According to the police, the duel involved the use of fists and a bamboo stick used in Deni’s martial arts training, before the two used knives against each other.
“The duel was happening and then both of them grabbed knives. And then the culprit was stabbed in the fight. I applaud the bravery of the house owner in fighting back against the culprit,” Andry said.
The alleged robber died after being stabbed in the chest, knee, and back of his head. Deni, meanwhile, was stabbed in the arm.
Killing in self-defense is not a crime in Indonesia, although the police must first determine whether or not the killing was necessary for self-protection. The police did not say if they were going to investigate Deni, but considering the East Jakarta police chief “applauded” Deni’s action, criminal charges against the martial arts master seems unlikely.
Furthermore, the police chief did not hide the fact that Deni, who trains students in Central Jakarta, is his senior at Merpati Putih.
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