Plainclothes police shoot alleged side mirror thief<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A young man was shot dead by Kebayoran Baru
\nplainclothes police late on Tuesday after he was allegedly caught
\nattempting to steal the side mirrors from a car stopped at
\ntraffic lights in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Chief of Kebayoran Baru Police subprecinct Maj. Sudjatmo told
\nreporters on Wednesday that his men fired their guns at the man
\nafter he ignored their warning shots and tried to attack the
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
He said police found no identification on the deceased, who
\nappeared to be in his late 20s.<\/p>\n
The incident took place at about 10 p.m. on busy Jl.
\nSisingamangaraja. Two of the man's companions fled after the
\nwarning shots were fired.<\/p>\n
\"We have conducted extensive surveillance in the area
\nfollowing dozens of reports from motorists about such thefts,\"
\nofficer Sudjatmo said.<\/p>\n
The street bandits reportedly only targeted luxury cars.<\/p>\n
The three young men were observed by the Kebayoran Baru
\nplainclothes detectives approaching a Volvo sedan as it slowed to
\nstop, while the street was still busy with evening traffic.<\/p>\n
According to Sudjatmo, one of the men then pulled out a
\nrencong (Acehnese traditional dagger) from his bag and pointed it
\nat the driver, while his two accomplices \"worked on\" the car's
\nmirrors.<\/p>\n
The detectives then surrounded the car and fired warning shots
\ninto the air.<\/p>\n
\"Two of them immediately fled in different directions, but
\nthis dead suspect even turned to our officers and challenged them
\nto fight with his sharp weapon pointed at the officers,\" Sudjatmo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The detectives gave him further warnings and told him to
\nsurrender but he instead moved forward, shouting, \"Shoot me if
\nyou dare,\" Sudjatmo said.<\/p>\n
The first and second shots were aimed at the suspect's thighs,
\nbut this apparently did not stop him attacking the officers. The
\nthird shot, however, hit him in the chest.<\/p>\n
\"We confiscated the sharp weapon and chased the fleeing
\nsuspects,\" Sudjatmo said. He added that plainclothes officers
\nwere still deployed in the area to apprehend street bandits
\nstealing side mirrors from expensive cars.<\/p>\n
Police then brought the unidentified dead man to Cipto
\nMangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for a postmortem
\nexamination.<\/p>\n
Nightmare<\/p>\n
The shooting raised the death tally of alleged street bandits
\nand armed robbers shot dead by law enforcers to 26 so far this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 10, police shot dead three armed street criminals who
\nwere caught allegedly red-handed extorting money from a motorist
\nat the Cawang interchange in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The three were identified as Manahan Purba, Erwin Purba and
\nRoni Simatupang -- apparently well known as hoodlums in the area.<\/p>\n
Two days later, Central Jakarta police detectives fatally shot
\na member of a gang suspectedly specializing in stealing auto side
\nmirrors in the busy Pecenongan area.<\/p>\n
The dead suspect, Achmad alias Samson, 28, was shot after
\nresisting arrests and trying to harm the law enforcers, police
\nsaid. His accomplice fled the site.<\/p>\n
Jl. Sisingamangaraja is among streets in the capital notorious
\nfor thefts of vehicle mirrors. Most of the victims are female
\nmotorists.<\/p>\n
A female reader of The Jakarta Post once faced the dreadful
\nexperience in midday. She was driving with a friend and her
\ndriver.<\/p>\n
\"The street was busy with motorists, passersby and street
\nvendors. We honked the horn loudly for help but no one did
\nanything to capture the group of three crooks,\" she recalled.<\/p>\n
She then allowed the bandits to steal the mirrors.<\/p>\n
\"They're pros. They did it in just a matter of seconds,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Complaints by motorists over such crimes have grown in the
\npast two years. Although the Jakarta Police have declared war
\nagainst the side mirror bandits, reports of such thefts continue.<\/p>\n
Jl. Gadjah Mada, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and the Harmoni intersection,
\nall in Central and West Jakarta, are said to be popular with the
\nbandits.<\/p>\n
The demand for second-hand side mirrors remains high here, due
\nto the weakened value of the rupiah against the greenback.
\n(emf\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/plainclothes-police-shoot-alleged-side-mirror-thief-1447893297",
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