Another motorcycle thief shot dead

DEPOK: The police shot dead a 33-year-old man on Sunday who they alleged was trying to steal a motorcycle at Jalan Palakali, Kukusan, Depok.

The man, identified as Rahmat Hidayat, was allegedly trying to remove a Yamaha Vixion motorcycle belonging to Syahrul Irawan, 38. Local police officer Comr. Ngadi said that they had fired warning shots but they were ignored by the suspect, forcing the officers to shoot him.

“The suspect was holding his jacket and we feared [he had] a gun so officers fired at his head. He died at the scene,” he said as quoted by tempo.co.

The police said that they had been stalking Rahmat for weeks, believing that he was in the University of Indonesia complex to steal motorcycles. “His accomplice managed to flee by motorcycle. The officers did not chase him,” Ngadi said.

The shooting in Depok is the latest in a series of raids by the police on motorcycle-theft syndicates operating in greater Jakarta. Last week, Tangerang Police officers shot dead a suspected motorcycle thief and arrested four others.