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Two men awarded by police for fighting robbers on Bekasi overpass
The Bekasi Police handed out awards on Thursday to 19-year-old friends Mohamad Irfan Bahri and Ahmad Rafiki for fighting two alleged begal (robbers) on the Summarecon Bekasi overpass in West Java.
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Mohamad Irfan Bahri (right) and Ahmad Rafiki pose for a photograph after receiving awards from the Bekasi Police in West Java for their bravery in fighting against a robbery attempt, on May 31 (kompas.com/Ardito Ramadhan D)
T
he Bekasi Police handed out awards on Thursday to 19-year-old friends Mohamad Irfan Bahri and Ahmad Rafiki for fighting two alleged begal (violent robbers) on the Summarecon Bekasi overpass in West Java.
Irfan, a santri (Islamic boarding school student) of an institution in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, was on vacation at his uncle’s house in Bekasi on Wednesday when he and his friend Ahmad went sightseeing and stopped at the Summarecon overpass to take pictures.
Two strangers, identified only as AS and IY, approached them and allegedly asked Ahmad to give them his phone while threatening them with a sickle.
AS allegedly tried to repeatedly attack Irfan with his sickle after Ahmad handed over his phone.Thanks to his self-defense skills, Irfan fended off the attack and seized the sickle.
“[AS] tried to escape but he still had my friend’s phone. I stabbed AS several times with his sickle and asked him, ‘Where’s my friend’s phone?’ He gave me the phone and apologized,” Irfan said as quoted by kompas.com.
IY then tried to take his injured friend to a hospital on his motorcycle. However, AS died on the way.
Irfan and Ahmad, who also sustained injuries, reported the incident to the police after receiving medical treatment at a clinic.
“We appreciate [Irfan’s] bravery and ability to fight the [violent] robbery, which is not an ordinary crime,” Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Indarto said.
Even though AS was killed as a result of the incident, the police, citing Article 49 of the Criminal Code, said they would not name Irfan a suspect because he acted out of self-defense.
Indarto said that had Irfan not attacked AS, he could have died or suffered from severe injuries. (cal/gis)
