Police shoot dead three alleged criminals

JAKARTA (JP): Three alleged criminals were shot dead by police in two separate incidents yesterday. All three were trying to resist arrest, police said.

The first two were shot dead on Jl. Cakung Cilincing in Bekasi at about 3 a.m.

According to 2nd Lieutenant Simangunsong of the Bekasi Police precinct, the two alleged robbers were shot as they tried to attack officers, who tried to handcuff them.

"They even ignored the warning shots," he said.

One of the victims is yet to be identified. He is his 30s and has a tattoo of the Chinese God of Luck on his right arm.

The other suspect has been identified as Achmad Dahlan Hutapea, 32, of Kp. Cikiwul, Bantar Gebang district in East Jakarta.

Both were shot twice in the head and back.

According to Simangunsong, the two, along with four other accomplices, broke into the East Jakarta office of the Land Transportation Agency on Jl. Raya Bekasi a few minutes earlier.

Out of the four, three managed to escape while the other one was wounded and is still being treated at the Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta.

Simangunsong did not give details of the robbery, saying the investigation has not yet been completed.

According to a source at the agency's office, the gang drove up to the front of the office at about 3 a.m. and asked for a screwdriver from an on-duty security guard.

"They seemed to changing the flat tire of their vehicle," said the source, who asked not to be named.

While the security guard tried to find a screwdriver, the gang members rushed inside the office.

"It seems they wanted to find cash here as they have opened all drawers only to find nothing. But they later took the security guard's motorcycle," he said.

The suspects managed to flee and drove along the Cakung Cikunir toll road before the Bekasi police patrol saw their car, which had just been reported via radio.

The police chased the car along the toll road and fired two shots at the car's windshield. The car was intercepted but it was not clear where the stolen motorcycle was.

Two hours earlier, the Mampang police in South Jakarta shot dead an alleged robber, identified as Angger alias Harjo, 38.

Harjo of Rawa Panjang in Bekasi was shot once in the thigh and twice in the back while trying to resist arrest. His two accomplices, Sriyono, 33, of Karawang and Haryono alias Bendol, 36, of Cikampek, were apprehended.

Police said that the three were caught red-handed breaking into a residential house in Kemang Timur a few minutes earlier.

They managed to take a television set, camera and three pairs of shoes from the house, which they loaded into their Mazda sedan.

But before the thieves made their getaway they were spotted by police patrol, who issued a search warning.

The thieves made their getaway at high speed before their car slammed into a cigarette vendor's cart in Mampang Prapatan.

So far this year, at least 85 suspected criminals have been shot dead by police officers. (04)