Four suspects shot dead for resistance

Four suspects shot dead for resistance

JAKARTA (JP): City police yesterday shot four suspected
criminals who were resisting arrest.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said that the
shots fired by the Ciracas and Pancoran officers were within
police procedure.

"The officers, for instance, fired warning shots into the air
before aiming at the suspects," he said.

One of the dead was known by police as a repeat offender. He
was identified as Rio Manulang, 20.

He had been wanted for a long time by the Ciracas police in
East Jakarta for his alleged leading role in a series of holdups
at the Kampung Rambutan bus terminal.

In most of his operations, Manulang and his accomplices, who
are still at large, boarded buses heading to and from several
towns outside Jakarta and pointed sharp weapons at the drivers
and conductors, said a Ciracas police detective.

After overpowering the bus crew, the group allegedly locked
the doors and started to ransack passengers' bags.

A number of passengers who resisted were attacked by the
group, says the officer.

Manulang was shot during a predawn raid near the terminal
yesterday.

The other three suspects shot yesterday morning were believed
to be members of a five-member gang. They were supposedly taking
a rest after committing a robbery but met face-to-face with a
Pancoran police patrol in South Jakarta.

According to spokesman Iman, the five suspected robbers
immediately left their car on Jl. Kalibata Utara when three
patrol officers came close to their parked vehicle.

The three were shot in the leg while trying to get into a
storm drain after ignoring the police's warning shots.

In their car, police found a wide range of electronic goods,
such as two television sets, a tape recorder set and an electric
fan. (bsr)