One killed and three arrested for toll road robbery<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City police officers patrolling the Jakarta-
\nCikampek toll road late on Monday night shot to death one member
\nof a five-member gang of street bandits who were caught red-
\nhanded extorting money from taxi passengers.<\/p>\n
Three of the criminals managed to escape, while the last
\nmember was arrested after he attempted to flee, city police
\nspokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to the officer, the five armed criminals were
\nextorting money from a Srimedali taxi driver and his two
\npassengers on the toll road when the police detectives came upon
\nthe scene in their patrol car.<\/p>\n
\"All of the bandits brandished their weapons toward the
\nofficers and ignored the warning shots fired by the officers,\"
\nAritonang said.<\/p>\n
The criminals then attempted to flee in various directions
\nalong the dimly lit toll road, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Two of them were caught while the other three fled,\"
\nAritonang said.<\/p>\n
One of the two arrested suspects, Kuswanto, 24, was shot once
\nin the forehead when he attempted to attack the officers with a
\nsickle, the officer added.<\/p>\n
The other arrested suspect, Slamet Riyadi, 20, was taken to
\nthe Makasar police station in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
During preliminary questioning, Slamet professed that his
\ngroup had extorted money from three other vehicles, a gas truck,
\na sedan and another taxi, before the police caught them.<\/p>\n
Aritonang quoted the suspect as saying that they stopped the
\nspeeding vehicles by forcing the motorists to slow down by
\nwalking in front the vehicles on the toll road.<\/p>\n
They then extorted Rp 500,000 from the driver of the gas
\ntruck, Rp 200,000 from the driver of the sedan and Rp 50,000 from
\nthe people in the taxi, the officer said.<\/p>\n
According to Slamet, the gang waited on the side of the toll
\nroad searching for victims, beginning at around 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
It's still unknown how long the gang had been operating in the
\narea.<\/p>\n
\"We so far have only identified the three criminals who
\nescaped,\" Aritonang said.<\/p>\n
The officer said police would not hesitate to shoot armed
\ncriminals if they placed the lives of police officers in danger.<\/p>\n
Marine's version<\/p>\n
Late last night, Aritonang's version that the bandits were
\narrested by the police was denied by the Marine Corps, which said
\nthat the extortion was first spotted by another motorist and the
\nperson who opened fire was a Marine soldier.<\/p>\n
Corps spokesman Maj. Ibrahim Sadong said a number of marines
\nwere called by the patrolling police officers who received the
\ntip-off for back up.<\/p>\n
\"When our personnel arrived at the scene, one of them shouted
\n'stop' at the bandits while others fired warning shots in the
\nair,\" Ibrahim said.<\/p>\n
One of the marines, Private Suwito, had to shot one of the
\ncrooks as the latter threatened Suwito with a sword, he said.<\/p>\n
The death of Kuswanto brought the number of alleged criminals
\nshot to death by police to 12 since the crackdown on street crime
\nwas launched late last month.<\/p>\n
Less than 24 hours before the shooting of Kuswanto, the police
\nalso shot to death three men who allegedly committed street
\ncrimes in separate incidents around the capital.<\/p>\n
Besides the 12 alleged criminals shot to death, the police
\nhave so far arrested at least 112 suspected street criminals
\nsince the crackdown began on Nov. 23.<\/p>\n
The fatal shootings of the armed criminals have received
\nsupport from an activist, a prosecutor and a military officer.<\/p>\n
Ori Rahman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims
\nof Violence said that the strict measures could give a feeling of
\nsecurity to Jakartans who are now living in fear due to the
\nescalating number of street crimes.<\/p>\n
Ori, himself a lawyer, urged the police to continue their
\nstern actions as long as the shootings met standard legal
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
\"The officers should of course shoot the criminals to death if
\ntheir lives are in danger,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor M. Roskanedi of the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's
\noffice said such actions were badly needed as shock therapy to
\nstop street crimes.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, the shootings will also lessen my job since I will
\nno longer need to bring more criminals to court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Roskanedi even suggested motorists run over suspected
\nattackers.<\/p>\n
\"It's self-defense. The courts will free motorists who kill
\nalleged robbers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Military spokesman Lt. Col. DJ Nachrowi said the
\nmilitary would continue to give its full support to the police
\napplying stern measures against criminals and rioters.<\/p>\n
\"We support the police effort to take firm action against law
\nviolators such as looters, thieves and robbers. If you don't want
\nto be shot dead, you'd better stop your unlawful deeds,\" he said.
\n(emf\/jun\/ivy)<\/p>",
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