Alleged crooks shot dead after ignoring warnings

JAKARTA (JP): Two alleged hard-core criminals were shot and killed by the city police over the weekend.

Police said they were forced to shoot the two men because they ignored several warning shots and even tried to attack the police officers who were assigned to capture them.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. A. Latief Rabar said the criminals were Yanto, alias Sumeri, 32, and Acan, alias Warsan, 25.

Sumeri, an employee of a private firm, was the prime suspect in a series of vehicle thefts in and around the city.

The resident of Tegal Parang, Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, was shot once in the chest at around 9 p.m. Friday at the Paspampres (the Presidential Security Guards) housing complex in Condet.

Police said he died on the way to the hospital.

Sumeri and his accomplices were believed to have stolen at least nine vehicles, including five luxury Mercedes Benz sedans.

Two of his accomplices, identified as Kosasih, 45, and Hendra Amyatris, 29, were arrested last year and are now each serving six-year prison terms at the Cipinang correctional institution.

Police said the gang members used a jeep or a sedan in their operation and carried sharp weapons.

Sumeri, the leader, always wore a police uniform. He was the one who stopped their would-be victims, led the drivers to an isolated area and tied them up before making off with their valuable goods and the cars, according to the police.

Latief said that the police received information saying that Sumeri was at the housing complex that Friday evening.

"Sumeri tried to get away and ignored the four warning shots fired by the police," Latief said. "Suddenly, he turned around and produced a sickle in an apparent attempt to attack the officers who then shot him in the chest."

Acan was believed to have committed a series of robberies together with his accomplices in Kali Anyar, West Jakarta.

Police had been searching for him for a year.

Acan, who was unemployed, was shot in his head on Jl. Fatahillah III in Kali Anyar at about 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Police had previously arrested some of his friends.

According to Latief, the local police received a report on Friday evening from a victim of a robbery on the street near the scene.

The victim claimed that the suspected members of the gang threatened him with sharp weapons and robbed him of Rp 250,000 (US$116) in cash.

A number of police officers were then dispatched to the scene to examine the situation. One of the officers bumped into Acan, whose face was familiar, near the area.

When the police were about to arrest him, Acan tried to run away. As the police fired two warning shots into the air, Acan suddenly turned back and confronted the officers with a knife in his hand.

"The officers had no choice but shoot him in the head. He died instantly," Latief said. (bsr)