F

ive men wanted for questioning about a series of brutal vehicle robberies in Greater Jakarta have been killed in two shoot-outs with officers from Serpong Police.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said the five suspects were killed in two separate incidents that took place on Sunday in Merak Port in Banten and at a boarding house in Cikupa, Tangerang, Banten.

'€œThey belonged to two criminal gangs, one of which specialized in motorcycle robberies and the other in car robberies,'€ Martinus told reporters at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.

According to Martinus, a team of Serpong Police officers tried to arrest two suspects, identified as Ali Husen and Ibrahim, at Merak Port at 1:45 a.m. on Sunday as they were about to board a ferry to their hometown in Lampung.

However, the two men began shooting at the officers and in the ensuing exchange of fire the two suspects sustained fatal gunshot wounds.

The police retrieved a 38 caliber revolver and four rounds of ammunition as well as a cell phone at the scene. The suspects were believed to have been responsible for a number of motorcycle robberies in Serpong.

An examination of the seized cell phone led the police to the location of the second gang.

'€œPolice officers then went to a boarding house in Sukamulya village in Cikupa, Tangerang,'€ Martinus said.

Serpong Police'€™s criminal unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Toto Daniyanto said that as the police attempted to approach the rented house the suspects opened fire through the windows.

Police officers tried to negotiate with the suspects, enlisting the local neighborhood unit head to help in the negotiations.

However, the suspects continued shooting at officers, who returned fire, killing three of the men, identified as Muhammad Ali, Ahmad Safei and Abdul Wahab.

'€œWe had no choice other than to take decisive action against the suspects,'€ Toto told reporters.

In the second incident, police confiscated a number of 32 caliber guns and four rounds of ammunition, airsoft guns, three daggers and two motorcycles.

Concerns over security in Greater Jakarta had mounted following a series of brutal vehicle robberies that occurred over the past month.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Unggung Cahyono said he had established a special team to solve the vehicle-robbery cases and stepped up routine patrols in the city to reduce street crime.

Unggung also emphasized that no police officer need be reluctant to shoot a violent offender.

'€œOpening fire in the line of duty is in accordance with police regulations. However, the officer should fire three warning shots before shooting the suspect,'€ Unggung said.

Jakarta Police have identified 54 locations considered prone to crime in Greater Jakarta, with 27 areas located in Jakarta and the others spread throughout Tangerang, Depok and Bekasi in West Java.

Depok city administration in West Java plans to install as many as 300 street lamps in dimly lit areas to prevent street crime.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta administration plans to install 2,500 CCTVs in an attempt to reduce the crime rate in the capital city.

On Jan. 25, a motorcyclist, named as Abdul Rahman, died from multiple stab wounds to the abdomen after he was attacked by four robbers riding three motorcycles on Jl. Margonda Raya in Depok.