Six people charged over Indonesia soccer stadium stampede

JAKARTA: Six people including police and match organizers are facing criminal charges in Indonesia over a stampede at a soccer game at the weekend that killed at least 131 people, the country's police chief said on Thursday.

Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a news conference that organizers and police were among those being investigated and more people may be charged.

They would be charged with criminal negligence causing death, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence if found guilty.

The suspects include three police officers over their use of tear gas, the head of the organising committee and the chief security officer of the home club Arema FC.

Police said the club's officials had not complied with safety requirements and had allowed a crowd larger than the stadium's capacity, while stewards had abandoned exits.

Police have said the exits where fleeing people escaped were too were too narrow to pass through, while the country's soccer association said some exits were locked. Agencies

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