Suspected muggers gunned down

JAKARTA: Cakung Police in East Jakarta shot dead two suspected muggers late on Monday for resisting arrest and endangering officers' lives, a police report said on Tuesday.

Rudi, 21, and Hamba Tua Siregar, 30, died after receiving at least three gunshot wounds each.

Police said the two had been on the police's wanted list due to their suspected frequent involvement in crime, mostly conducted on public transportation vehicles and also at bus terminals in the East Jakarta area.

The suspects were spotted by police along Jl. Raya Bekasi, allegedly after extorting money from a passenger on a public minivan.

When ordered to surrender, they refused and drew weapons, challenging the officers to take them by force.

After being shot by police, the bodies of the two suspected robbers were then rushed to the state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for postmortem examinations. --JP