Armed robberies claim three lives in S. Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Three people were killed and another was wounded in attempted burglaries of two homes in South Jakarta on Monday.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said two of the people were killed in Mampang Prapatan, while the third fatality and the wounding occurred at a residence in Kebayoran Lama.

Killed in Mampang Prapatan were housemaids Katirah and Karsum, who died of multiple stab wounds. They were found dead at about 10 a.m.

The two were distant relatives of their employer, Mrs. Yusuf Andan.

She told South Jakarta police detectives she believed the killer was Dody, the former husband of her niece, who reportedly lived in Bekasi.

"Dody and his friend came to the house last night and stayed overnight because they had some business in Jakarta," South Jakarta police detective chief Capt. Rycko Amelza Daniel quoted the housewife as saying.

She recounted she left the house to go shopping at 9 a.m. and returned later to find Dody and his friend sitting on the terrace.

She was shocked by the bloody scene in the kitchen and the dead bodies of Katirah and Karsum. She screamed for Dody's help.

However, she said he threatened her with a bloodstained knife, demanding she hand over her car keys and tell him where she kept her jewelry.

Dody and his friend searched the house as the shocked woman looked on.

They reportedly made off with electronic goods, jewelry and a red Suzuki sedan.

Lubis said the third fatality was Aloysius Yudi Retno Sudibyo, 31, who died from a stab wound to the chest during an attempted burglary at his family's home. Injured was his brother Budi Wahyono, 19, who sustained injuries to his back and fingers.

Lubis described them as "two brave brothers who attempted to defend their family's property".

No valuables were taken from the home belonging to Wachidi, a retired civil servant of state-run television station TVRI, in Juraganan, Kebayoran Lama.

Fled

"The robbers fled the scene without taking any valuable items as soon as their victims collapsed," Lubis said.

The robbers are believed to have entered the two-story house by breaking down the back door at 3:30 a.m. and proceeded directly to the second floor.

Hearing a noise, Budi went to the second floor, but was attacked by two men brandishing a sickle and knife, Wachidi said.

Yudi, who was sleeping near the family room, woke up and tried to help his brother, Wachidi added.

The robbers fled shortly after injuring the two siblings.

Budi, whose fingers on his left hand were badly injured, was taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta. Yudi's body was sent to the same hospital for autopsy.

Budi attended his brother's funeral later on Monday.

According to his father, Yudi was preparing to establish a printing company with friends.

He was employed at a private company and also studied at Bina Nusantara college.

Yudi was scheduled to marry his girlfriend Vivi by the end of the year, said Elvi, Vivi's younger sister. (01/emf)