Plainclothes police shoot alleged side mirror thief
JAKARTA (JP): A young man was shot dead by Kebayoran Baru plainclothes police late on Tuesday after he was allegedly caught attempting to steal the side mirrors from a car stopped at traffic lights in South Jakarta.
Chief of Kebayoran Baru Police subprecinct Maj. Sudjatmo told reporters on Wednesday that his men fired their guns at the man after he ignored their warning shots and tried to attack the officers.
He said police found no identification on the deceased, who appeared to be in his late 20s.
The incident took place at about 10 p.m. on busy Jl. Sisingamangaraja. Two of the man's companions fled after the warning shots were fired.
"We have conducted extensive surveillance in the area following dozens of reports from motorists about such thefts," officer Sudjatmo said.
The street bandits reportedly only targeted luxury cars.
The three young men were observed by the Kebayoran Baru plainclothes detectives approaching a Volvo sedan as it slowed to stop, while the street was still busy with evening traffic.
According to Sudjatmo, one of the men then pulled out a rencong (Acehnese traditional dagger) from his bag and pointed it at the driver, while his two accomplices "worked on" the car's mirrors.
The detectives then surrounded the car and fired warning shots into the air.
"Two of them immediately fled in different directions, but this dead suspect even turned to our officers and challenged them to fight with his sharp weapon pointed at the officers," Sudjatmo said.
The detectives gave him further warnings and told him to surrender but he instead moved forward, shouting, "Shoot me if you dare," Sudjatmo said.
The first and second shots were aimed at the suspect's thighs, but this apparently did not stop him attacking the officers. The third shot, however, hit him in the chest.
"We confiscated the sharp weapon and chased the fleeing suspects," Sudjatmo said. He added that plainclothes officers were still deployed in the area to apprehend street bandits stealing side mirrors from expensive cars.
Police then brought the unidentified dead man to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for a postmortem examination.
Nightmare
The shooting raised the death tally of alleged street bandits and armed robbers shot dead by law enforcers to 26 so far this year.
On Feb. 10, police shot dead three armed street criminals who were caught allegedly red-handed extorting money from a motorist at the Cawang interchange in East Jakarta.
The three were identified as Manahan Purba, Erwin Purba and Roni Simatupang -- apparently well known as hoodlums in the area.
Two days later, Central Jakarta police detectives fatally shot a member of a gang suspectedly specializing in stealing auto side mirrors in the busy Pecenongan area.
The dead suspect, Achmad alias Samson, 28, was shot after resisting arrests and trying to harm the law enforcers, police said. His accomplice fled the site.
Jl. Sisingamangaraja is among streets in the capital notorious for thefts of vehicle mirrors. Most of the victims are female motorists.
A female reader of The Jakarta Post once faced the dreadful experience in midday. She was driving with a friend and her driver.
"The street was busy with motorists, passersby and street vendors. We honked the horn loudly for help but no one did anything to capture the group of three crooks," she recalled.
She then allowed the bandits to steal the mirrors.
"They're pros. They did it in just a matter of seconds," she said.
Complaints by motorists over such crimes have grown in the past two years. Although the Jakarta Police have declared war against the side mirror bandits, reports of such thefts continue.
Jl. Gadjah Mada, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and the Harmoni intersection, all in Central and West Jakarta, are said to be popular with the bandits.
The demand for second-hand side mirrors remains high here, due to the weakened value of the rupiah against the greenback. (emf/bsr)