Police provide contrary stories on shooting

JAKARTA (JP): The police have given conflicting accounts of how a plaincloth officer shot dead two alleged street robbers at point-blank range on Jl. KH. Moch. Mansyur in Tambora yesterday morning.

The two victims, Umang, 30, and Suherman, 35, were shot at point-blank range by Chief Sgt. Sularwo, a local police officer, after the suspects attempted to rob him at 2:30 a.m. near a traffic light on the West Jakarta street.

According to Sularwo's superior, Maj. Chairul, the chief of the Tambora subprecinct, the officer was in his Kijang minivan when the two robbers -- both of whom were ex-convicts -- approached his vehicle while Sularwo was waiting at the traffic light.

"One of them suddenly threatened the officer by pointing a machete toward him and asked for some money.

"Instead of complying with their request, Sularwo swiftly opened the door of his car to hit the robbers," he said.

"On recognizing that their victim was a police officer, the two tried to flee," Chairul said, giving no explanation on how Umang and Suherman, who had been listed as among the most wanted criminals in the district, could have identified their victim.

Sularwo then fired his gun "to paralyze the victims".

From their possession, police seized a machete and two wristwatches with broken straps.

"We believe the watches were snatched from other victims," Chairul said.

City police deputy spokesman Maj. Nyoman S. gave a different version of the fatal shooting of the two alleged robbers by the Tambora detective.

Speaking with the media yesterday, Nyoman said Sularwo was on duty monitoring the area when the two alleged culprits passed him, pointed a sickel at him and grabbed his wristwatch.

"His first four warning shots in the air were apparently ignored by the culprits. He eventually aimed at their feet but still the robbers kept on assaulting him, which injured his left hand," Nyoman explained.

As he was completely cornered, Sularwo finally aimed his gun at the heads of the robbers, he said.

Umang and Suherman's bodies were sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for postmortems. The sergeant is still under questioning regarding the shooting.

"We'll run a cross-examination as usual. If he did not violate any regulations and he did it based on the threatening situation, there will not be a problem," Nyoman added.

One of the culprits, Umang, has been on the Tambora police's most wanted list for some time.

"Umang specialized in theft and robbery. The other victim, Suherman, was also known as a hoodlum in Angke," he added. (ivy/edt)