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)