Soldier allegedly shoots prostitute 'girlfriend'

Soldier allegedly shoots prostitute 'girlfriend'

JAKARTA (JP): A 28-year-old prostitute suffered a gunshot
wound to her left thigh after an Army officer allegedly fired his
gun early Friday morning in the Rawamalang area of Cilincing,
North Jakarta, a high-ranking officer said.

The North Jakarta Police officer identified the prostitute as
Ratnaningsih of Kampung Baru in Cakung, East Jakarta, and said
she was reportedly having a torrid affair with the suspect, Chief
Sgt. Sumarno, of the city's military intelligence unit on Jl.
Kramat VII, Central Jakarta.

"These Kramat VII guys are the worst. So many cases of theirs
are never solved. It was good that Sumarno surrendered to the
Cilincing Military subdistrict an hour after the incident," the
officer, who asked for anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.

"The Jakarta Military Police will handle this case now."

The officer said a university student named Dharma witnessed
Sumarno in a drunken state entering a home in Rawamalang, Semper
subdistrict, at about 1:20 a.m. Sumarno was heard screaming and
smashing things inside.

"Dharma said there was loud shouting and screaming going on in
the house. Then a gunshot was heard. The bullet which seriously
injured the woman came from the soldier's FN gun of .22
millimeter caliber," the officer, who could not stop laughing,
said.

When asked why he was laughing, he said: "People get jealous
over single or married women. But this guy is jealous over a
prostitute! He shot her over her everyday work."

"The woman was immediately rushed to Koja Hospital, and then
transferred to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital where she
is receiving treatment in the hospital's emergency ward."

When reporters checked at the hospital, the woman was not
there. She was still at Koja Hospital receiving treatment.

Jakarta Military spokesman Lt. Col. Djazairi Nachrowi said the
shooting "was a definite violation of the law".

"Sumarno is being questioned by Jakarta Military Police
(Pomdam Jaya) officers. The strictest measures will be taken
against him," Nachrowi said, adding that dismissing the officer
was a possibility.

"But Pomdam has to investigate the degree of Sumarno's fault
first, and then decide."

Haunts for male and female prostitutes across the capital have
soared from 30 in March last year to 120 in June this year as
people's desperation increases and more Greater Jakarta residents
live below the poverty line. (ylt)