Indonesia: 6 locked by robbers in bathroom suffocate to death in Jakarta

The robbers locked 11 people - including family members, maids and drivers - in the two metre by one metre (6.5 ft by 3.3 ft) bathroom and they were not found until early on Tuesday

Six people, including a nine-year-old child, were found dead in Jakarta, after suffocating in a tiny bathroom where armed robbers had locked them the previous day.

The robbers locked 11 people - including family members, maids and drivers - in the two metre by one metre (6.5 ft by 3.3 ft) bathroom and they were not found until early on Tuesday (Reuters file photo)

Petty crime is common in Jakarta, a teeming city of 10 million people, but violent crime including armed robbery is rare.

Up to four intruders broke into the house in an upmarket neighbourhood on Monday, Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said.

The robbers locked 11 people - including family members, maids and drivers - in the two metre by one metre (6.5 ft by 3.3 ft) bathroom and they were not found until early on Tuesday, Yuwono said.

“They were carrying firearms and machetes,” Yuwono said of the robbers, citing a witness account.

The five survivors were in critical condition and taken to hospital, he said.