Security guard killed in S. Jakarta robbery

JAKARTA (JP): A group of seven robbers broke into an Ades mineral water distribution office in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta, making away with the safety deposit box after killing a security guard and wounding two others early Saturday morning.

The armed robbers arrived in a Kijang van at the office at around 2 a.m. and ambushed the on-duty guards and brutally killed Odang Sasmita, a retired traffic policeman, who attempted to defend himself, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said.

On seeing their superior assaulted by the robbers, other security guards Wahyudi alias Keling and Nikon tried to give help but were hit with iron bars by the attackers.

Odang died of multiple stab wounds, while his subordinates suffered wounds to the head.

Odang's body was rushed to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta by police for a post-mortem examination.

Lubis told reporters that police were looking into the involvement of people familiar with the office and its security situation, as the robbers knew which part of the fence they could jump over and which direction they could take to the safety deposit box.

"The group seemed to be very professional in the way they handled the security guards," he said.

Meanwhile, the head of a public health center in Patrasena village, Kresek district in Tangerang, was shot in the waist by a group of six alleged robbers who broke into his house early Saturday morning.

Nurdin, 32, was awaken by noisy activity at his house and tried to drive away the robbers who entered by breaking down the front door.

"Instead of running away, however, one of the robbers shot him in the waist," an officer of the Tangerang police precinct said.

No information on the state of the wound the victim sustained was available.

The officer, who asked not to be named, said the robbers also overpowered Nurdin's wife, Dede, and tied up her legs and hands and gagged her mouth with a piece of cloth. They even threatened to kill her if she shouted for help, he said.

The robbers immediately left in a vehicle which had been parked near the incident site, making away with a 20-inch TV set, 35 grams of gold jewelry and cash amounting to Rp 10 million.

The robbery is still under investigation by the officer, head of the Tangerang detective unit Capt. Krisnandi said. (41/emf/hhr)