Police officer gunned down by crime suspect

Police officer gunned down by crime suspect

JAKARTA (JP): A Mobile Brigade Police officer was killed on
duty yesterday after two alleged criminals slashed his left hand
with a machete and shot him twice in the waist and stomach.

The officer, First Sgt. Witono, died at the crime scene before
he could be taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata regretted the incident
but courageously said it was a risk police officers face in
accomplishing their duties.

"It's the risk of being a police officer. Establishing
security is expensive, it cannot be measured with money.
Sometimes we have to give up our lives for the sake of it,"
Hamami said yesterday.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Witono was
assigned to escort staff from a private company, PT IM, who were
transporting two kilograms of gold bars yesterday from Pasar
Grogol to Roxy Mas in West Jakarta.

He said Witono, 27, was driving a motorcycle with a staff
member of the company. A car, in which the gold was being
transported, followed behind him.

Aritonang said the incident took place at about 10:30 a.m.

They were passing by Jl. Dr. Susilo in Grogol when suddenly
two men on a motorcycle approached Witono from his left side and
attacked him, Aritonang said.

"One of the two men, whose identities are still unknown,
slashed Witono's left hand. Witono lost control and fell to the
ground," Aritonang said.

The man who was riding on the same motorcycle with Witono was
so scared that he ran away. The car's driver did the same thing,
he said.

"As Witono tried to get up, one of the attackers shot him in
the waist and stomach," Aritonang said.

He said it was believed the attackers planned the robbery well
in advance.

Witono's body was taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital's morgue in Central Jakarta yesterday. His body was
scheduled to be transported to Madiun, East Java, for funeral
arrangements.

Witono, who lived at the barracks of Mobile Brigade
Headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Bogor, was scheduled to marry his
fiancee in the next few months. (cst)