Sat, 05 Feb 2000

Police say man shot 'for unclear reasons'

JAKARTA (JP): Tangerang Police detectives have the shell of a .8 caliber bullet and the police number of a motorcycle, used by an unidentified person to shoot a man in the Gembor subdistrict of Jatiuwung, Tangerang, on Friday evening.

"The victim is being operated on for a gunshot wound to his right chest at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital," Pudji told The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.

"It was a traffic offense misunderstanding ... or something of that sort. We got the shell and the motorcycle's registration number. We are still investigating this case and have yet to find the real motive of this shooting."

A staffer at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, who requested anonymity, identified the victim as Aris AS, 30.

Aris was shot in the neighborhood community 04 of Gembor, Jatiuwung. He was wheeled into the hospital at 8:40 p.m.

In an unrelated development, Pudji said police were still in the dark about suspects who robbed some 200 grams of gold jewelry, cartons of cigarettes and a Kijang Rover van from a house in Gardu village in Ciracap, Legok district.

The robbers broke into the house of the victim, Emit Mat Soleh, 50, at about 2:10 a.m. on Friday.

"They tied Emit up with long ropes, gagged him and threw him into the bathroom," Pudji said.

"They then took whatever they could get their hands on and threw the items into the victim's Kijang Rover, a 1995 model with license number B 1532 FC, complete with car documents, and ran off. The losses amount to some Rp 200 million (US$26,700)," Pudji said.

"They also took Emit's Honda Astrea Supra motorcycle."

Separately, angry residents of Jatisampurna, Pondok Gede in Bekasi, beat a man to death upon hearing the screams of a man who cried out that the victim was a thief, at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The police report stated that the victim, identified as Lovi Achmad, 26, was riding a motorcycle past the house of Samin bin Mira, 45.

Upon seeing Lovi on the motorcycle, Samin screamed "Thief!". Lovi was immediately chased by residents, and upon reaching Jl. Raya Kerangan in Jatisampurna, Pondok Gede, residents caught up with him and beat him to death.

In the case of armed bank robberies, Greater Jakarta Police, however, have been unable to solve a single case of theft.

National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo said on Wednesday that more armed police officers would be deployed to secure bank withdrawals, following the attempted robbery on Monday in which a North Jakarta Police officer was shot.

"Personnel and weapons will be added ... rifles will be allowed, since threats toward one's life are quite serious," Rusdihardjo told reporters following a visit to the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta, where Chief Cpl. Durjani of the North Jakarta Police internal affairs office is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.

Durjani was shot during the attempted robbery of a safe containing Rp 2.5 billion (US$357,200) in front of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) on Jl. Veteran, Central Jakarta.

Durjani shot and killed a man, identified as Djafar, in front of the BRI branch. Durjani was shot by Djafar in the thighs.

Police said the money belonged to the Tanjung Priok BRI branch, and was withdrawn from the central bank on Jl. M.H. Thamrin. (ylt)