Jakarta – Indonesian police have warned hard-line Muslim gangs raiding and smashing bars, discos and red-light areas in and around the capital, that they had gone too far.

The warning, by police spokesman Brigadier-General Saleh Saaf, came after members of the militant Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) shaved the heads of three alleged prostitutes with knives and killed a youth who came to the girls' defence.

"A young man named Eddie tried to stop the gang, but was beaten and stabbed to death," Brig-Gen Saaf said of the attack on Wednesday in Subang, 105 km east of Jakarta. "Nobody has the right to do such a horrible thing, especially since they claimed to be acting in the name of religion."

FPI members on Friday also attacked a police station in Karawang, some 80 km east of Jakarta, in retaliation over the police shooting out the tyres of one of its trucks. The truck had reportedly been driving off after an amusement arcade raid, loaded with stolen equipment.

Early this month, police said they had reached an agreement with the FPI on the operating hours of "recreational establishments". Despite this, FPI members had gone on their rampage.