Notorious motorcycle robber shot dead

JAKARTA (JP): A police detective in Tangerang shot dead a man, believed to be a member of a notorious gang of motorcycle thieves, in Teluk Naga district, an officer said on Tuesday.

Second Insp. Nur Patria said Darman, alias Onyang, was fatally shot on Monday night on Jl. Salembaran in Kosambi subdistrict of Teluk Naga after attempting to resist arrest.

"The suspect refused to surrender and tried to attack the police officers with a machete," he said.

Surprised by the unexpected attack, one of the officers then shot Darman in his right chest, Nur said.

As there were no witnesses to the shooting, except for police officers, the police did not name any of them, which is allowed by the law for the sake of their safety.

According to Nur, Darman and 10 other gang members, one of whom was shot dead last October, caused anxiety to Teluk Naga residents, since they often used machetes in their attempts to paralyze their victims.

The gang members, two of whom have already been brought to court, allegedly committed their crimes last year with motorcycles, particularly those owned by ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, as their prime target, the officer said.

They also hunted for taxis, he said.

"A member of the group initially pretended to be a passenger and ordered the driver to drive him to a certain destination," Nur said.

When they arrived, the bogus passenger asked the driver to stop as he wanted to urinate. When the driver did so, the other gang members appeared and forced him to hand over the vehicle," he said.

Nur said that the gang members were not reluctant to stab their victims if the latter refused to give them their vehicles and belongings.

"The group killed a taxi driver last September," he said.

Nur identified the other seven gang members, who are still at large, as leader Endang, Imam Batok, Bigong, Pulung, Ancok Ukur, Onggan and Pengging.

The shooting of Darman took place at about 11 p.m., when the suspect was on his way home, he said.

"He died on the way to the hospital." (asa)