Three members of known criminal gangs shot dead

Three members of known criminal gangs shot dead

JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives shot dead three men alleged to
be members of notorious criminal gangs in separate incidents
early on Wednesday, fulfilling their recent pledge to take stern
measures against brutal crooks.

The three victims were identified as Sahrul, 30, a resident of
Cijahe in Bogor; Andi, 29, of Pejaten Timur in South Jakarta and
Rahmad alias Tanggir, 22, of Grogol in Depok's Limau district to
the south of here, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward
Aritonang said.

City police vowed recently to step up their fight against
criminals and the rising incidence of crime brought about by the
prolonged economic crisis.

Aritonang confirmed the shootings were carried out by
detectives from South Jakarta and Depok police precincts
respectively.

He explained that Andi and Sahrul were members of a gang
specializing in a series of bank robberies in the Greater Jakarta
area. Another gang member, identified as Mahmud, is still at
large, he added.

Aritonang said that Sahrul was arrested at a discotheque in
Senayan, Central Jakarta, at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday and
instructed to take police to the hideouts of other gang members
in South Jakarta.

Sahrul led five detectives to a rented house on Jl. Sawo in
Tebet which he said was the gang's headquarters, but which turned
out to be empty except for a television set and a Mazda sedan.

The arrested man told police he needed the toilet, then
attempted to escape by jumping out the bathroom window.

"He ignored warning shots and police were forced to shoot him.
He was shot in the chest, leg and forehead," Aritonang said.

Working on tip-off provided by Sahrul, detectives went to
Pasar Minggu in search of Andi, the second victim, and was told
by his friends that he had gone to Poltangan in South Jakarta.

"Andi was tracked down in Poltangan, but attempted to flee
when he realized the police were closing in on him," the city
police spokesman said.

He was apprehended and a scuffle ensued, during which Andi
tried to seize a policeman's gun and turn it on the officers.

"He was shot immediately because his actions posed a danger to
police lives," he said.

A source at Depok police precinct said that Rahmad, the third
victim, was thought to belong to a gang specializing in vehicle
thefts and had just been released from Cipinang penitentiary.

No details were available about the circumstances of his
death.

The bodies of the three men were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital in Central Jakarta for postmortem examinations.

Sahrul's body was claimed by his wife, Siti Nurjanah, while
Andi and Rachmad's bodies remained unclaimed as of Wednesday
night.

"I came to Jakarta to look for my husband because my youngest
son is ill and is missing his father very much. But I never
thought that I would find him in this condition," Siti said.

She claimed to be unaware of her husband's real occupation,
saying that she thought he was a used car dealer.

"If police identified him as a criminal and he had to die in
this way, I don't care. All I know is that when he was still
alive he tried hard to earn money to feed his children," Siti
said. (emf)