Suspected robber shot dead

JAKARTA (JP): A North Jakarta Police officer shot and killed a 25-year-old suspected robber on Monday night on Jl. Yos Sudarso, a source at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said on Tuesday.

The source quoted another police officer, who accompanied the body of Mugeni, alias Bangga, to the hospital, as saying his colleague shot the suspected criminal after being alerted by the screams of the victim. When the police officer arrived at the scene, the suspect was robbing a teenage girl aboard a public transportation vehicle.

No details on the girl, witnesses to the crime, the officer who shot the suspect or even the vehicle in which the shooting took place were available, as the North Jakarta Police declined to discuss the incident.

According to the source at Cipto Mangunkusumo, the officer who escorted the body of Mugeni to the hospital said the suspect approached the girl inside the moving vehicle, put a knife to her throat and demanded her money.

"When she realized her life was in danger, she screamed loudly, which drew the attention of passers-by, including the officer, who rushed to the scene and shot Mugeni in the chest," the source said.

The body of the suspect was taken to the hospital's morgue for a postmortem examination. As of Tuesday evening, nobody had come forward to claim the body.

Over the past two days, three unidentified bodies discovered in different parts of the capital have been taken to the hospital.

All of the deceased are believed to be in their 30s.

The first corpse is said to have been hit by a public bus in Pulogadung, East Jakarta. An examination revealed the victim suffered a fractured skull.

The second person is believed to have died after being struck by lightning. The burned body was found near an empty field in Talempong, North Jakarta.

The last corpse, that of a beggar, was discovered in Pademanangan, North Jakarta. There is as yet no information on a possible cause of death. (06)