Three killed as robbers and residents clash in Joglo

JAKARTA (JP): Three men were killed in a clash between three robbers and residents of Joglo in the Kembangan district of West Jakarta after the residents caught a gang of robbers stealing a 14-inch television set from a neighborhood house on Wednesday morning.

Two of the dead were identified as Saruki, 34, and Sumarji, 31, both members of the gang, while the other victim was a local resident identified as Rahmad, 16, an officer at the Kembangan police station said.

The two robbers died of severe wounds inflicted by blunt objects.

The other robber managed to flee after fatally wounding Rahmad, the officer, who refused to be named, said.

The gang of robbers broke into the house, owned by Mansur, through the front window at around 3 a.m. They proceeded to remove Mansur's television set, said Rizal, a local resident.

"It was quiet around here as many people were watching a film being screened at a nearby field," he said.

Rizal said that when he saw the robbers through the window, one of the robbers, realizing that they had been seen, pointed his sickle at him.

Rizal then shouted, "Thief, thief," at which the three robbers fled into the darkness.

Another neighbor, Soleh, said that local residents, alerted by the shouts, rushed to the scene and found the three robbers about to enter a waiting taxi.

"When we stopped the taxi, the three men ran toward a nearby garden which is surrounded by high concrete walls," Soleh said.

Taxi driver Heriyanto and his 'passenger' Poniyem, who is five-months pregnant, were taken to a nearby house by the residents.

Some of the other residents, however, took the initiative to encircle the garden, waiting there until 5:30 a.m.

Police arrived minutes after the residents surrounded the garden.

Eventually, one of the robbers managed to escape, at which point the residents attacked the two remaining culprits, despite warning shots fired by the police.

The head of the West Jakarta detective unit, Maj. Idham Azis, confirmed the incident and said that local residents moved quick to arrest the robbers.

Police later detained and questioned Heriyanto and Poniyem, as they are also believed to be involved in the robbery. (emf)