Stray bullet strikes woman in S. Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): A housewife was hit by a bullet thought to be fired by a motorcyclist in Rawajati Barat, Pancoran district, South Jakarta on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Kasni, 37, a mother of four, who runs a food stall in Rawajati Barat with her 44-year-old husband, Syahri.

Kasni, who was wounded in the left shoulder, was rushed to private Budhi Asih hospital on Jl. Dewi Sartika in East Jakarta.

South Jakarta Police chief detective Capt. Rycko Amelza Daniel quoted witnesses as saying that the incident took place at about 7:30 a.m. when there were many people on the street.

Rycko said the incident occurred when Kasni and her employee were serving two customers at her food stall, which serves instant noodles and rice porridge daily from 6 a.m. until midnight.

"The victim suddenly fell down, bleeding," Rycko said, adding that one customer, identified as Heru, was grazed in the head by the bullet before it hit Kasni's shoulder.

Heru, a staffer at the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, was sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta to have his light injury attended to.

Many bystanders said the incident occurred so fast that they did not immediately know from which direction the bullet came, Rycko said.

"Many of them only heard a bang but didn't see where the bullet came from," he said.

It is believed the shooter was riding a blue Honda Tiger 2000 and wearing a dark jacket and a racing helmet.

Witnesses told the police that the shooter accelerated and fled the scene, leaving the crowd stunned.

"The man disappeared as soon as people thronged to Kasni's stall to check what was happening inside," Rycko said.

The police will question the two victims as soon as they recover from their wounds.

"Either Heru or Kasni was the target," he said.

When contacted later, Rycko said the police had yet to identify what type of bullet was removed from Kasni's shoulder.

Kasni's husband said he knew of no one who would want to harm his wife, saying neither he nor his wife had any enemies. He also said they were not in competition with anyone in the same business.

"We're here in Jakarta just to earn money for our children in Kuningan, West Java, nothing else," he said at the hospital.

"My neighbor lent me money to pay for my wife's operation," he said, adding that the surgery would cost at least Rp 1 million (US$117).

In December, one woman was also injured in a shooting incident that mystified police.

The woman was identified as housewife Nyimas Lesmana, 29. She was wounded on a busy street off Jl. Raya Ciracas in East Jakarta.

The shooting took place at about 9 a.m. on Dec. 12.

She was shot on Jl. Raya Sentex in the Ciracas area.

Bystanders and motorists, who witnessed the incident, said they saw Nyimas suddenly collapse. (emf)