Robbers kill bank security guard, wounds manager

JAKARTA (JP): A security guard at a branch of Bank Central Asia (BCA) in West Jakarta was fatally stabbed and the bank manager suffered stab wounds in an foiling armed robbery on Thursday afternoon.

The incident at the branch on Jl. Keamanan happened at 11:25 a.m., 10 minutes after an explosion at Hayam Wuruk Plaza shopping center, located about 500 meters away.

Witnesses and police officers in the area said a group of at least six men armed with guns and machetes and riding on three motorcycles were involved in the attempted robbery.

Upon their arrival, two of the men stood on alert at a newspaper stall in front of the bank while the others, armed with machetes, a FN-type weapon and Colt-38 pistol, entered the bank.

Bank security guard Syahroni, 25, immediately approached the four, according to witnesses.

Before Syahroni could question them, one of the robbers stabbed Syahroni with his machete in his chest, stomach and legs.

Before the frightened employees and customers, the group demanded money from bank manager Hendrik Dermawan.

When Hendrik refused, one of the robbers slashed Hendrik's hand.

Employees and bank customers panicked and screamed for help.

The robbers then hastily left the bank and fled in different directions.

One of the robbers, identified later as Rojak, fled on a motorcycle but collided with a becak (pedicab) near a traditional market 200 meters from the bank.

Rojak tried to run but was caught and assaulted by dozens of local residents. They took a FN gun from his possession.

Another suspect, identified as Mustakim, was apprehended by police a few minutes later. He was hiding at a spot near the scene.

The four remaining suspects, two of them identified as Piping and Amir, are still at large.

Police had difficulty collecting information from Rojak and Mustakim because they refused to talk. But West Jakarta Police deputy chief Maj. Hengky Kaluana said last night that the two had admitted to plotting the robbery three months ago.

Hendrik and the security guard were taken to Husada Hospital but Syahroni died on the way.

His body was transported to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for autopsy.

His father, Nimin, 62, told reporters at the hospital that Syahroni would be buried at the public cemetery near his house in Kebon Pala, East Jakarta, shortly after the autopsy was completed.

Syahroni, he said, was the eighth of his 12 children.

"The last time I met him was last night and I didn't have any significant forewarnings that he would die soon," said Nimin.

Hendrik remains hospitalized. Reporters were not allowed to see him or talk to his relatives.

West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Timur Pradopo confirmed the robbers fled empty-handed.

He also dismissed speculation that the robbery and the explosion were connected.

"There's no relationship between the two incidents," Timur insisted.

BCA, once owned by former president Soeharto's cronies and relatives, was taken over by the government last August following Soeharto's resignation.

One of the most recent attempted bank robberies occurred on Jan. 12, involving a Sierra Leonean at a branch of Bank Internasional Indonesia at Plaza Indonesia shopping center in Central Jakarta.

The foreigner failed in his attempt but grabbed a gun from a bank security guard, shooting the bank's windows before he was arrested. (jun/01)