11 alleged 'axe robbers' shot dead this year

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)