One shot dead and four arrested in Central Jakarta taxi robbery
One shot dead and four arrested in Central Jakarta taxi robbery
JAKARTA (JP): Police shot to death a suspected taxi robber and
arrested four other people, including a 16-year-old female,
during a midnight raid in Central Jakarta, says a police officer.
Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said yesterday
that the group was charged with robbing the driver of a Gading
taxi and attempting to steal the vehicle on Tuesday evening.
"A neighborhood security guard, who tried to stop the
suspects, was stabbed in the head and the left hand by one of the
group members," Iman said.
The dead suspect, identified as Mamat, was shot after trying
to attack passersby and resist arrest, Iman said.
His accomplices were identified as Herlina, 16, who is the
only female in the group, Sidik, 19, Darmadji, 26 and Mochamad
Mamad, alias Jeger, 23.
Herlina is a resident of Jl. Kalibata Timur in South Jakarta,
while the other four live in Pasar Minggu, also in South Jakarta.
According to the preliminary police investigation, one of the
suspects stopped the taxi, driven by Saleh, 38, at around 11 p.m.
on Jl. Raya Bekasi in Bekasi, 30 kilometers east of Jakarta.
"After the taxi stopped, the four, including the girl, came
out from their hiding place and got into the taxi together," Iman
said.
The group then asked Saleh to drive them to Jl. Cempaka Putih
in Central Jakarta.
Before arriving at their destination, one of the group members
put a machete to Saleh's neck and demanded his money and told him
to move out of the driver's seat, Iman said.
"At the same time, Herlina quickly cut the cable of the taxi
radio," said the spokesman.
Earnings
The suspected robbers then took the driver's Rp 42,500
(US$18.08) earnings, from which they returned Rp 1,000 for
transportation. With the machete still at his neck, they told
Saleh to get into the back of the taxi. They said they intended
to dump him somewhere.
The group then drove the taxi to the Mangga Dua shopping area
and stopped at a dead end off Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta after their
car hit a parked car.
One of the group members wounded a neighborhood security guard
with the machete. They then dispersed upon seeing a number of
passersby rush to the scene after Saleh screamed.
Three of the suspects, Herlina, Sidik and Darmadji, were
arrested several minutes later near the scene.
"Mamat was found several minutes later and was shot after
trying to attack passersby and our officers and failing to obey
the warning shots fired by the police," Iman said.
The latest suspect, Jeger, was apprehended at about 5:30 a.m.
yesterday, apparently hiding somewhere near the scene.
"Our records list the suspects as repeatedly having committed
similar crimes in certain parts of Bekasi and East Jakarta and
the surrounding areas," Iman said.
North Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira said
that the group had allegedly planned to rob a bank executive's
house in Pulo Gadung.
"But they found that the banker's house was crowded at the
time. They said they had to cancel the plan," Abubakar
said.(bsr/jun)