Two alleged armed robbers shot dead

JAKARTA (JP): Police shot dead two out of five alleged robbers armed with offensive weapons who attacked police officers after they were caught red-handed attempting to rob a motorcyclist on Jl. Lodan Raya late on Friday.

Pademangan Police chief Adj. Comr. Hendro Pandowo told journalists that he and several detectives were patrolling Jl. Lodan Raya, Pademangan subdistrict, North Jakarta, following a series of robberies involving motorcyclists on Jl. Lodan Raya and Jl. RE Martadinata over the past two weeks.

They saw the five robbers, who were riding motorcycles, stopping Indra, 28, a resident of Grogol, West Jakarta, who was also riding a motorcycle with his girlfriend as a pillion passenger.

"The armed assailants threatened to rape the victim's girlfriend if he tried to raise the alarm or resist," Hendro said.

Becoming aware of the police presence, he said, the robbers tried to flee while the detectives gave chase. Three of the robbers managed to escape arrest while the other two were both shot in the chest for attacking the police officers with knifes.

"We have been looking for quite a while now for these five hoodlums in connection with a series of crimes in the area, including acts of robbery, extortion, and theft," he said, adding that the police had also identified the other three suspects who had made good their escape.

Before sending the bodies of the dead men to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital morgue, police recovered a knife, a cellular phone, a bank savings book and cash of Rp 700,000 from them.

The two dead were identified as Andi Setiawan, 30, a resident of Pedongkelan, Pulogadung district, East Jakarta, and Oding, a resident of Kwitang, Senen, Central Jakarta.(01)