Motorbike thief shot dead

JAKARTA (JP): A police officer on patrol shot an alleged motorcycle thief to death as he squared off against a mob on Jl. Masjid in Tambora, West Jakarta, on Friday morning.

Nurjaya, 38, died on the spot from a gunshot wound to his head.

According to Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis, the suspect was spotted at 10 a.m. by the vehicle's owner, Tio Sujarwo, when he was about to abscond with the motorcycle which was parked in front of Tio's home.

"The suspect used a specially designed master key to open the motorcycle's steer lock," officer Lubis said.

Tio shouted for help and alerted nearby residents, he said.

Nurjaya tried to flee with the motorbike but was stopped by the crowd.

The suspect did not give up but instead brandished the T- shaped device and threatened the residents, Lubis said.

A police officer patrolling the area arrived at the scene and shot the suspect in the head after firing two warning shots, he said.

The body of Nurjaya, a resident of nearby Jl. Samarasa, was taken to the morgue of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for postmortem. (jun)