Two serial house burglars arrested

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 06/30/2008 10:50 AM  |  City

Two alleged thieves were arrested Saturday after police fired at their car during a chase on Jl. Pondok Labu in South Jakarta.

"We failed to capture two other thieves, who escaped," Cilandak Police chief Comr. Makmur Simbolon said.

He said the suspects had burglarized nine empty households in Jakarta over the past nine years.

The suspects, Budi, a resident of Jatinegara in East Jakarta, and Fajar Riyanto, a resident of Cipayung in East Jakarta, are being held at the Cilandak Police station in South Jakarta.

The two that escaped the scene were identified as Yus and Brewok.

None of the suspects were injured in the shooting as the bullets did not penetrate their car's passenger compartment, Makmur said.

"We are still chasing them (Yus and Brewok)," he said.

Police said the four were attempting to loot an empty house in the Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) housing complex in Cipete, South Jakarta, at noon, when a security guard saw them.

They threatened the guard with a BB gun before shrugging off the pursuit of an alerted police officer, police said.

The suspects then broke into another empty house in Adyaksa housing complex in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, police said.

The suspects' car was later spotted on Jl. Pondok Labu by police, who took up chase and eventually arrested its progress with gunfire on Jl. Haji Kamang, police said.

The police confiscated from their Honda sedan two desktop computers, three watches, a gold bracelet and two gold brooches.(ind)

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