Robbery, violent protest in Bekasi

JAKARTA (JP): Two more criminal acts added on Thursday to the crime record in the Bekasi area, with one incident relating to a violent robbery, and another to a violent protest, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said on Friday.

"In the robbery case, the victim was shot dead, while in the protest case, a hotel sustained severe damages," Zainuri said.

He said that in the latest Bekasi robbery, a suspected robber shot on Thursday morning an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver to death, and rode off with the driver's motorcycle in the Pincang Lie village of Pebayuran, Bekasi.

"The victim, identified only as 30-year-old Wasta, was a resident of Karawang, West Java," Zainuri said.

"The robber acted as if he wanted a ride, and then shot the driver and ran off with the motorcycle."

Meanwhile, some 200 local residents from Cikarang pelted stones at Hotel Cikarang on Jl. Gatot Subroto No. 13, in Cikarang, Bekasi, for allegedly permitting prostitutes to operate from the premises.

The hotel, owned by 40-year-old Evi Kusfianto Amar, suffered damages worth Rp 300 million (US$42,860). (ylt)