Alleged criminal shot dead in Tanah Abang area

JAKARTA (JP): Another alleged street criminal was shot dead by police detectives in the busy Tanah Abang area of Central Jakarta on Monday morning, bringing the tally killed by law enforcers so far this year to 12.

According to Central Jakarta police detective chief Maj. Budiono Sandi, the 30-year-old man was a notorious hoodlum in the area and widely known on the streets as Apel.

He died from two shots to his chest and left thigh after trying to resist arrest, the officer said.

"This man has long been long under our surveillance as we strongly believed that he'd committed and been involved in a series of robberies on board public buses," Budiono told reporters on Monday.

Tanah Abang is home to a large textile market, a crowded bus terminal, railway station, a number of cheap hotels and a slum area. At night, certain spots are known to be busy with prostitution and gambling.

Officer Budiono said police had so far received 12 reports of the involvement of Apel and the other three members of his gang in robberies of passengers on public minivans and buses in the area.

The other gang members managed to escape when police tried to apprehend the four men at around 10 a.m. at the Ciapang alley in Jembatan Tinggi, Tanah Abang.

Budiono said it would be only a matter of time before the other three, also notorious extortionists in Tanah Abang, were apprehended.

"We have already located their hideouts," he said.

The shooting took place after local police received a report from a 35-year-old woman claiming to have been robbed by a group of four men armed with daggers on board a minivan plying the Kebayoran Baru-Tanah Abang (M-09) route.

According to the woman, Darmiwati, she was forced to hand over her 20-gram gold necklace as one of the men pointed a dagger at her.

Darmiwati said the four men got out of the minivan and she then quickly reported the robbery the police station at nearby Tanah Abang market.

"It so happened that our detectives had already been dispatched to the area and were therefore easily able to locate and give chase to Apel and his friends," officer Budiono said.

"Apel was shot not far from the site after attempting to assault a police detective," he added.

Separately, Apel's girlfriend, Tinah, who arrived at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital to collect his body, said Apel had proposed to marry her in two months.

Tinah, a widow with two children, said she had no idea of her future husband's family or personal background.

"We just met a week ago and fell in love with each other. We then made the commitment to marry," said Tinah, who has recently quit her job as a housekeeper in the Sunter area of North Jakarta.

"He told me he came from somewhere in Sumatra island," she said.

Apel was among the recent string of suspected street criminals to find his life ended by police bullets.

Last Friday, Central Jakarta Police detectives also shot dead an alleged vehicle side mirror thief, who they claim was caught attempting to pull the mirrors off an Opel Blazer in Pecenongan.

A day later, a group of street robbers surrounded the official Volvo sedan of State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng.

They failed to get the expensive side mirrors of the minister's car, and one of them was caught by Tanri's driver. The minister was not harmed. (emf/ivy)