THE SOUTH LIMBURG GELEEN has been suffering from outright terror by a Moluccan gang for years. The Moluccans and their Dutch accomplices - almost all with criminal backgrounds - mainly keep house in cafes and pubs. There are rumors of extortion and threats in the bars and pubs, and people are regularly beaten up. A Moluccan who is once again speaking out in a case of horror shot a Geleen innkeeper over ten years ago. Last summer two young people from Limburg fell prey to the group in the center of Geleen and were seriously injured. And then there is the added homicide of the Geleen insulation worker Fer Loontjes, for which part of the group is currently on trial. This victim was literally beaten to death during carnival in front of dozens of partying Limburgers.FER LOONTJES ran into the wrong person in Geleen's café full of carnival revellers.
GELEEN, Saturday
As always with Carnival, Fer Loontjes had been "in a fun mood," according to his friends. To the fullest, the Limburg insulation worker had enjoyed the colorful parade and partying crowds that day. But Carnival Sunday 2008 came to an inky black end in Geleen when the eager Loontjes suddenly bumped into the wrong people. Barely two weeks later, his life motto, "Live your life, you are making a mistake if you don't," was emblazoned on his prayer card.
In a packed court in Maastricht last week, the criminal trial of the seven men - five Moluccans and two Dutch - suspected by the prosecution of involvement in the gruesome death of the 47-year-old Limburger began. This is a fraught criminal trial with chilling and baffling details laid out in numerous statements. For many dozens of men and women appear to have witnessed the fatal assault in February this year, in the Geleen café Het Vlaegelke.
Back to the dramatic Carnival Sunday when Fer Loontjes steps over the threshold of Het Vlaegelke with a good friend around nine o'clock in the evening. The party is in full swing both inside and outside under an awning tent. People are dancing, laughing, drinking and talking. At the back of the café, employees rinse glasses and polish the buffet. Meanwhile, Fer Loontjes, born and raised in Geleen, chats here and there with acquaintances. "Fer was a friendly, helpful man who never looked for an argument," several witnesses later stated to investigators. "When he had been drinking, he was loud, but that night Fer was tipsy at most."
Friends also characterize the Limburger as a man with his heart in the right place. "A good laugh. Fer was with the local carnival association for at least ten years, he lived for carnival. He was divorced and father of a daughter and a son. He had many friends, loved doing odd jobs, and wrote poetry in his spare time. Every Saturday he went to the market with his mother and often ate at his elderly parents' house. Still they set the table for Fer."
The revelry in the Vlaegelke hushed as other, significantly less popular guests entered the café. A group of Moluccans, about ten men, a few women and two white men. They stand out because they are not dressed up. Some broad-shouldered. Almost all in black attire. A few bald, others their black hair in pigtails.
The arrival of the Moluccans created an anxious and even explosive atmosphere. "We were walking on eggshells, something could happen at any moment," said one of the visitors. There are carnival-goers who are so afraid of the group that they later did not want to tell the police anything at all. "I know those people and don't want to say anything. I can't remember anything," said one of them. Another: "I'm not crazy. They are definitely going to kill me then." Yet many carnival revellers would ultimately not mince words and paint a staggering picture. The criminal record typifies a group of Moluccan men, of varying composition, who for years have been found regularly in the Geleen nightlife scene, acting intimidating and sometimes extremely violent. One of the witnesses: "Always when they come in, the atmosphere changes. Everyone knows them and then becomes quieter. They act intimidating, extremely threatening. Looking at these men crookedly or accidentally nudging them can be enough for an argument." Nevertheless, an occasional partygoer in the Vlaegelke tries to involve the group in the carnival. "I thought, 'I'm joking,' grabbed a black cowboy hat and put it on the head of one of the Moluccans. 'So, now you're dressed up anyway,' I said. He laughed and looked away at a buddy of his. His gaze was fierce, those blood eyes. Incredibly aggressive. I found it very scary and immediately looked away." Several café visitors feel the almost palpable tension and know that something could happen at any moment, but Fer Loontjes seems completely unaware of it. He is at the slot machines in the crowded bar when things suddenly get completely out of hand. Loontjes' buddy has just thrown five euros into the left slot machine, on the right one Moluccan Antonie P. Suddenly Loontjes hits his slot machine and, according to his friend, shouts, "Come on, give me some! On the right-hand slot machine, too, he is said to have slapped, saying, "And give that boy some too! Immediately the flame catches fire. Numerous partygoers see how a bald Moluccan with a tattoo on his neck slams Fer Loontjes savagely against the slot machines. Witnesses later recognize this man as Gerano S. This 32-year-old Moluccan is a former member of the Leerdam gang, a feared criminal organization that in the 1990s was behind numerous violent crimes such as extortion and robberies, as well as a series of crimes in which two people were killed. Gerano S. was jailed for 11 years for his part in the violence. As if by arrangement, after Gerano S. pushed him, several other Moluccans and their Dutch, also previously convicted friends Barry H. and Rick D. also ran towards Fer Loontjes to give him a beating. In particular, the nearly 1.90-meter tall heavyweight Rick D., who had been detained in the past for violent and drug offenses, among others, is said to have punched the victim's face full in the process.
"The men were standing with their backs to me," said one visitor. "I looked Fer in his face. He received at least five to 15 blows. It hurt a lot, you could see it in his expression. He had a depressed face, as if from a restrained scream. Fer collapsed, down against the wall, his arms protective around his head." A witness with experience in martial arts: "There was a hard, really fierce beating."
Moluccan Stephan P. (31), older brother of Antonie P., also interfered in the one-sided fight with Loontjes, according to bystanders. P., typecast as the leader of the Moluccan group, is also an acquaintance of police and justice. He came into the news in 1997 after he and his cousin and pals passed through Geleen drunk and vandalizing. When the local landlord Tonny Kentjens said something about this, Stephan P. shot him in cold blood two bullets through the head, the third shot came from his cousin. Stephan P. spent eight years behind bars.
Rag doll
When P. signals in the Vlaegelke, the rain of fierce blows immediately stops and one of the Moluccans throws Fer Loontjes out like a rag doll. Outside, carnivalgoers see the battered isolation worker walking toward his friend, confused and swaying - probably because of the hard blows. But then suddenly Loontjes takes off his coat, rips the glasses off his face and sets sail for the café again. 'Now it's done,' his friend hears him call out. Numerous visitors try in vain to stop the man. What moved the Limburger to return? For Suzanne Besters, who has been married to Fer Loontjes for 23 years, it remains a mystery. "Maybe someone said something. Maybe Fer just didn't take it. He was not a fighter, aggression was foreign to him. But he had a strong sense of justice and would not accept being beaten just like that."
That decision proved fatal to Fer Loontjes. After a few moments, fifteen seconds at most, according to witnesses, nothing would be left of the sprightly Limburger but a vegetable in a hothouse, on life support until his death. A hurricane of deadly fury and violence crushed Loontjes in front of a celebrating crowd. One witness, looking back, "I saw the door of the café being thrown open and Fer storming back in. He looked angry at the bald Moluccan guy, but before Fer could say anything, he was already hit with a fist by the bald guy. The whole group, including Stephan P., Barry H., Rick D. and also Moluccan Douglas C., stormed towards him. They flew at him, hitting him everywhere. They were rock-hard blows, Fer was literally saved the stage. I was shocked by that violence and thought, 'This is going to go all wrong.'" Another witness: "I first saw Fer when he fell backwards. I had the impression that he had been beaten. When he was lying there, the whole group was around him and was kicking him full on. Everyone was kicking him, they were kicking with those karate kicks wherever they could hit him. All the kicks hit his body. But Fer wasn't moving by then."
It is Stephan P. who is identified by a dozen people present as the man who allegedly dealt blows with a barstool. One of them: "I saw that Stephan lifted a bar stool by the legs and then turned the stool one turn, with the seat down. With this he slammed down rock hard in the direction where Fer was lying on the floor. He must have hit him full on the head."
As quickly as the lynching began, it is over again. The group of Moluccans and their Dutch companions rush to their cars and flee. In the café, carnivalgoers walk around dazed, some in shock or in tears. Fer Loontjes lies motionless on his right side by the bar, several people see a large gaping wound on his head and a pool of blood around him.
Pain stimuli
One of the partygoers knelt down directly with him. "He didn't move, his eyes were closed. I tried to address him by his name, but he didn't respond. I checked his oral cavity, Fer was still breathing. But at some point he began to breathe snoring, roaring." In the ambulance, Loontjes is found to be unresponsive to pain stimuli and unable to breathe on his own. His body is overloaded with wounds and bruises, but it is a hemorrhage in his brain that takes his life. Two weeks later, the devices keeping Fer Loontjes alive are discontinued Moluccans Stephan and Antonie P., Gerano S., Paul S. and Douglas C. and their Dutch companions Rick D. and Barry H. stood trial for the first time last week in Maastricht court for the manslaughter of Fer Loontjes. Paul S., convicted of threats and theft in the past, seems to have nothing to do with the case. However, a threatened witness links him to the serious assault of two young men, David Rosenbaum and his friend Ron, in June last year in Geleen. Rosenbaum suffered serious brain injuries in the process, his friend a shattered shoulder. Serge Weening, lawyer for Paul S.: "It is regrettable that my client was in the wrong place twice at the wrong time and was deprived of his freedom for six months as a result. The judge has already indicated that there is no hard evidence for S.'s involvement in both acts. I look forward to the verdict with confidence." Stephan P. and his brother Antonie are also suspected of assaulting Rosenbaum and his mate. In addition, the prosecution sees Stephan P. as a key player in the death of Fer Loontjes. But P.'s counsel, attorney Peer Szymkowiak, calls his client's part in the Loontjes case minimal. "P. became involved in the assault only at the last moment. The injuries that led to the death cannot be attributed to him. In the end, it was an ordinary bar brawl, which had fatal consequences, to the great sadness of all parties. Stephan P. is willing to take responsibility for his part. The 2007 assault case lacks any evidence of his involvement."
Several witnesses appear to have been seriously threatened in recent months. The relatives of Fer Loontjes, on the other hand, received an expression of regret. "A bill from Stephan P. But we really don't believe he is remorseful," said the family.
