Businessman, bodyguard shot dead

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two unidentified men shot dead the president of computer firm PT Asabha and his bodyguard, a member of the Army's Special Force Command (Kopassus), in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Saturday morning.

The two men drove a motorcycle toward Budi Hartono Angsono, accompanied by his bodyguard, Second Sgt. Edi Syet, as they were jogging at Sasana Krida sport stadium at about 5 a.m.

Using a rifle the men shot Edi, who was an officer at Kopassus' unit V at Cijantung headquarters.

Budi tried to escape but the men chased him and shot him in the back.

The businessman and his bodyguard died instantly and several shot wounds marked their bodies. Police found several bullets close by the victim's bodies. The men on the motorcycle escaped.

City Police Detective chief Sr. Comr. Andi Chaeruddin said the incident was an assassination and not the result of a robbery as the businessman's belongings were not taken by the suspects.

"It's not a robbery. The suspects did not take Budi's car," Andi told The Jakarta Post

He couldn't reveal the motive behind the murder but linked it with the attempted murder of PT Asabha's finance director on June 6, which police are still investigating.

Two unidentified men shot at the director, Paulus Tejakusuma, while the victim was driving Budi's sedan along Jl. Angkasa in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

When Paulus stopped at the traffic light in front of Golden Hotel, two men on a motorcycle suddenly appeared from the other direction.

As the suspects approached the car, one of the men got off the motorcycle and fired two bullets at the sedan from a distance of about two meters. The men then quickly fled the scene.

Paulus survived but suffered serious wounds to the chin, the right hand and the chest. The assailants have not been caught.

However, military sources told the Post on Saturday that the murders were suspected to be connected with a family feud.

Budi and his son had earlier received a death threat, the sources said.

At least nine shooting incidents have occurred in the city since January. On Jan. 3, 2003, Brig. Gen. (ret) Soenarso Djajoesman, 74, a former ambassador to Malaysia, was shot in the leg by six armed robbers. The robbers were later captured by police.