11 alleged 'axe robbers' shot dead this year

JAKARTA (JP): The police have shot dead since January this year 11 members of what are widely dubbed "red axe-wielding gangs", bands of robbers who often prey on lone motorists, particularly females, at traffic lights throughout the city, an officer said on Thursday.

"Eight were shot dead at several traffic lights in East Jakarta, while the remaining three gang members were shot dead in the North Jakarta area," City Police spokesman Supt. Muhammad Nur Haji Usman said at his office.

He said the 11 were members of four separate axe-wielding groups.

Nur dismissed the allegations that the police had acted beyond normal procedures with the shooting.

"Stiff measures were taken since the gang members often resisted the City Police personnel trying to prevent and arrest them while they were robbing the victims.

"Our personnel have acted in line with the police's standard operational procedures," he said.

But reports of similar terrifying crimes in the capital's streets have apparently not yet stopped.

Among the latest was that experienced by a staffer working at the Gramedia publishing complex in Gelora subdistrict, West Jakarta, at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Driving alone in a BMW 320i sedan, the woman -- talking with her friend on her cellular phone -- had just left her office and passed the traffic light near the newly-constructed Permata Senayan apartment complex heading to Slipi when a group of men, as if they were crossing the road, approached her car and ordered her to go to the side of the busy street.

"I didn't realize what was happening in the beginning even though I could hear voices repeatedly shouting 'handphone, handphone' and bangs on my door sides.

"I just kept driving my car to the roadside as they ordered," said the woman, who refused to be named.

She knew that she was in a dangerous situation only after she noticed that she was encircled by six men, two of whom had axes in their hands.

"There were all in their 20s," she said.

None of the onlookers and passing motorists, including a group of people packed in a Toyota Kijang van in front of her, were willing to offer any help, the woman said.

"After assessing the overall situation and the traffic in front of me, I stepped on the gas," she said, adding that she reported the case to the police station near the BPK building at Slipi.

"I lost nothing but it was really scary," she said.

According to police spokesman Nur, the latest shooting of the gang members occurred on Aug. 12 when a gang member, Rancus Simanjuntak, was shot dead at the busy Jl. Pemuda intersection in East Jakarta, when he and his two friends tried to rob a taxi passenger.

Nur conceded that members of the groups still operated in various areas in the city, especially near traffic lights.

"The crime-ridden areas are, among others, Cawang and Jl. Pemuda intersection in East Jakarta, Cempaka Putih Flyover in North Jakarta and the Grogol and Slipi areas in West Jakarta.

"The police are still searching for the whereabouts of other gang members, based on testimonies of other members who have been arrested," he said.

Nur did not disclose the number of gang members already arrested.

The presence of axe-wielding gangs has put fear into motorists, particularly lone female drivers.

The gang members often use axes in their operations to threaten the victims and pressure them into handing over their valuables, especially handphones. The robberies usually take place while the vehicle is stopped at a red traffic light.

The gangs often target people who are riding in cars in dense traffic, as the queues of cars would prevent the drivers from immediately escaping the area.

Nur said the gang members did not hesitate to break the car windows and hurt the victims in an effort to take their valuables.

"Since they are brutal and fearless, people, including the police, have labeled them the "red axe-wielding gangs"," he said.

"Their crimes have been put on the police's priority list.

"Chief of the City Police Insp. Gen. Nurfaizi often touched on the topic during our weekly evaluations every Wednesday at the headquarters," he added.

The spokesman said police personnel who succeeded in arresting gang members would be given rewards.

To deal with the problem, the police have frequently deployed personnel, including plainclothes detectives, mainly in the crime-ridden areas, he said.

"However, since our personnel are limited, the gang members continue with their actions while our personnel are not present in the areas," he said.

He, however, conceded that there are personnel who skip their duties and do not patrol the areas.

"Perhaps they are poor. They might skip their orders to safeguard the areas and look for additional revenue from other places," he said. (asa/bsr)