A Russian man has been shot dead by the police in Bali after committing a robbery at a money exchange office with two accomplices. The three men violently broke into a currency exchange office and beat up the employees until they were unconscious. The employees had been locked up, but after regaining consciousness they were able to find a way to contact authorities. As soon as the police arrived, the Russian man tried to fight with an unarmed police officer. Another armed, officer was left with no other option but to shoot the assailant. The dead man has been identified as 45-year-old Alexei Korotkikh from Russia.
“Our unarmed officer tried to fight back. As the situation was very dangerous to our colleagues, another officer who was armed took strict measures against the suspect… he then died,” Denpasar police chief Ruddi Setiawan told the reporters. The Russian embassy has also confirmed that one of its citizens was shot dead in Bali. Of his two fellow robbers; a fellow Russian was wounded during the arrest, and a Ukrainian are currently in custody. There are reports of four others involved in the crime, however, their nationalities remain unclear.
The police revealed that the gang was also suspected of committing another theft in December last year. It is estimated that the gang has stolen over US$ 70,000. While many foreigners get arrested in Bali for drug abuse and possession, being arrested for a violent crime is relatively rare. In January, the Bali police also arrested four Bulgarians who were accused of skimming bank card data at several ATM machines in Denpasar.
Source: The Jakarta Post
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