Robbers spice up their crimes

JAKARTA: With the police cracking down on illegal firearms, robbers are arming themselves with whatever weapons they can find, including "pepper spray" made from diluted chili paste.

"Many robbers are now using this kind of 'pepper spray' to stun their victims," the Jakarta Police's Sr. Comr. Muhamad Jaelani said on Friday.

Police arrested four suspected robbers at the Tanah Abang railway station on Tuesday evening. Officers confiscated from the four suspects six kitchen knives, a crowbar, a large bottle of homemade pepper spray, a pair of scissors, a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

"They were trying to steal a car .... They attacked the driver and a passenger with the pepper spray," Jaelani said.

Police are looking for three more suspects who managed to evade arrest. -- JP