Police hunting perpetrators of drive-by shooting

JAKARTA (JP): Having questioned at least 20 witnesses, police said on Monday that they were still in the dark about the perpetrators of Friday's drive-by shooting in South Jakarta, which injured a close ally of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacoeb said police had not yet identified the shooters but "were still working on identifying the car used in the crime."

"We don't want to speculate about the perpetrators," Sofjan told reporters when pressed further whether police suspected the involvement of certain military elements in the crime.

Sources close to the investigation said that South Jakarta Police detectives had identified the car owner who was said to be hiding in Central Java.

"We are directing our investigation there (to Central Java) as he (the car owner) will be an important lead for us," one of the sources said.

In the drive-by shooting which occurred on Jl. Buncit Raya, South Jakarta late Friday, three people were injured, including a suspended executive of Ansor, the youth wing of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama.

A dark red KIA sporty was said to stop abruptly in front of the victims' car and the passengers opened fire, using what was thought to be automatic rifles.

The former Ansor deputy treasurer, Aris Junaidi who was known to be a close ally of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, was shot in the left shoulder. (emf)