Police catch three wanted for killing of taxi driver

JAKARTA (JP): The city police apprehended three people yesterday for their alleged involvement in the killing of a taxi driver on the Cikampek toll road several hours earlier, an officer said.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Aritonang said the three suspects were Adi Zakarsih, 18, Hasanuddin, 17, and Doni Dozer, 23.

The three young men were apprehended in Bekasi by the police, who noticed blood on the President Taxi they were in.

"When they entered the Cikunir toll gate, the police patrol tried to stop them, but they sped off.

"During a car chase, the police shot one of the taxi's tires and forced them to stop," Aritonang explained.

The three men then jumped out of the car and fled into a nearby kampong.

"The police were forced to shoot Doni in the leg after he hid for a while. He even tried to attack the officers," he said.

The police confiscated sharp weapons allegedly used in the killing and the taxi used by the suspects to flee.

All the suspects have been detained at Jakarta Police Headquarters and later will be transferred to Bekasi Police Station for further investigation.

The dead taxi driver was identified as Yuzrijal, 43. It is believed he died instantly when his neck was slashed by a sickle at about 1:30 a.m. yesterday.

"The three suspects pretended to be passengers and told Yuzrijal to drive them from Tambun in Bekasi to Cikampek. But before they reached the toll gate, the suspects threatened the poor taxi driver with sharp weapons and told him to pull over.

"As the victim tried to fight them off, one of the suspects stabbed him in the right thigh with a screwdriver. Yuzrijal managed to escape by jumping out of the taxi, but he was chased by the other two suspects who eventually cut his throat open," Aritonang said.

The body of Yuzrijal was dumped on the side of the toll road and his cab was taken.

In a separate incident, a Batavia taxi driver was robbed in Bekasi on Sunday night.

The victim, identified as Basuki, 28, was robbed by four unidentified men who got into his cab in Bekasi and asked to be taken in the direction of Cibitung.

When they reached Cibantu village, the four men threatened Basuki with sharp weapons and took some Rp 200,000 from him.

The robbers then forced him out of the cab, which they then took. "He then asked for help and reported the incident to Bekasi Police Station," Aritonang said.

Bekasi Police chief Lt. Col. Adjie Rustam told the media yesterday that the officers were tracking down the four suspects.

Aritonang said that robbery involving cabs had become a trend in crime. "Therefore, we urge people, both passengers and taxi drivers, to be careful when choosing taxis or passengers."

On Friday night, Agnes Ike Yuliastuti, 27, and her sister Elizabeth, 25, were abandoned on Jl. Yos Sudarso, North Jakarta, after being robbed by a President Taxi driver and his accomplices. The victims reported the incident to the North Jakarta Police. (edt)