Police get clues in case of murdered officer
Police get clues in case of murdered officer
JAKARTA (JP): Police investigating the death of mobile brigade
officer First Sgt. Witono have uncovered several clues after
questioning witnesses and reconstructing the murder.
The reconstruction of Witono's death was done Friday night at
the crime scene on Jl. Susilo in Grogol, West Jakarta.
A police source said yesterday a bullet case was found at the
scene. It is believed to have come from the same gun which was
used to kill Witono.
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang confirmed
Friday's reconstruction yesterday, but declined to comment on the
finding of the bullet case.
"We have done the reconstruction and questioned eye witnesses.
We are still investigating the case," was all he would say.
Witono, 27, was killed Friday morning after two people slashed
his left hand with a machete and shot him twice in the stomach.
He was on an official assignment escorting an employee of a
private company, PT IMC, transporting two kilograms of gold bars
from Pasar Grogol to Roxy Mas in West Jakarta.
Witono, who was not wearing his uniform, was driving a
motorcycle with the IMC employee, named Sonny, on the back, the
police source said.
The criminals did nothing to prevent Sonny from running away
soon they had shot Witono, the source said.
A criminologist from the University of Indonesia, Adrianus
Meliala, said that the death of Witono had in some way proved
that many criminals were no longer afraid of the police.
"The police's efforts to guard companies or people during the
transportation of their valuables does not scare criminals or
stop them from robbing the owners or even hurting the police,"
Adrianus told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
It also proved that the police cannot guarantee the safety of
either pedestrians or drivers, he said.
Adrianus said that securing the transportation of valuables by
driving a motorbike together with a company employee who carried
the valuables was incorrect because the officer was in a
difficult position if the unexpected were to happen.
He said that Witono's attackers must have been very skillful
in being able to shoot the police officer in such a difficult
situation, hinting that they might well have been trained
marksmen. (cst)