Seven men bash police officer waiting for bus

JAKARTA (JP): Police are searching for seven men who bashed a police officer while he was waiting for a bus in Central Jakarta.

The officer, Capt. Ulung Kanjaya, was badly beaten about the head and was being treated yesterday at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for face wounds and other injuries.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the attack took place Thursday about 8 p.m. at a bus stop on Jl. Diponegoro in front of the Dana Utama Bank.

"Our officers are still collecting information to identify the suspects."

A police source said that Ulung, who works at the National Police forensic laboratory, was not wearing a uniform when the attack took place. He may have been alone at the bus stop.

"One or two of the men went up to Ulung and asked for money. The other men then surrounded him when he refused to give them any money," the officer, who asked for anonymity, said.

"It's possible that Ulung told the men that he was a police officer and told them to leave. If he did, the warning didn't stop the men."

He said that Ulung was in a satisfactory condition and would be able to return to work soon.

Aritonang said that the Jakarta Police Provost Unit arrested a police officer yesterday for the shooting murder of a man in Depok, West Java.

The officer, identified only as Second Sgt. UD of the Tangerang Police precinct in West Java, was arrested yesterday morning.

Aritonang said UD had allegedly shot Yudha Wirawan, 35, after a dispute between the officer, the victim and some other men.

Yudha, the son of an army lieutenant colonel, died from a single gunshot wound to the head on Thursday.

"We are still investigating the incident. What is the really reason behind the dispute needs to be clarified."

Aritonang said that UD would certainly be punished if the investigation found him guilty of deliberately shooting the man.

A police source said UD was involved in a dispute in the Citayem area after his motorcycle was scraped by a car driven by one of Yudha's friends.

"UD got mad because the men in the car acted as if they had done nothing. UD apparently lost his temper and acted carelessly because the men belittled him, comparing his rank with that of the victim's father," the officer, who did not want to be identified, said.

He said UD fired a single shot at the car's back left window, fatally wounding Yudha.

The car, a black Great Toyota Corolla, was confiscated as evidence. (cst)