Farouk Arnaz – Mobs burned two police stations to the ground in South Sumatra following the fatal shooting of a man suspected of theft, police said on Wednesday.

"There were two police stations burned – the provisional Rupit subdistrict and the Rawas Ulu subdistrict police stations," South Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Djarod Padakova said.

The stations were 30 minutes' drive from each other, according to Djarod, who added that police were still assessing the health of detainees held at the stations.

The attacks took place on Tuesday, he said, the day after the National Police celebrated its 67th anniversary – although police gave no indication that the date was a contributing factor.

The Rupit subdistrict police station had already been burned down once before in April, after a dispute about the creation of a new electoral district.

In this instance, people were angered by the death of a local man, whom police have identified as "H.H," who was shot while resisisting arrest, police said. The mobs also blocked the Trans Sumatra highway betwen Lubuk Linggau in South Sumtara and Jambi until the early hours of Wednesday. H.H. was wanted on suspicion of several armed robberies.

"A raid was conducted on Tuesday at around 9:30 a.m., but the suspect resisted and, after firing warning shots into the air, the suspect continued to resist arrest – so we had to take police action," Djarod said.

A home-assembled firearm was seized from the victim, Djarod said, adding that H.H died while on the way to the hospital. Djarod said he was unable to pinpoint why the police had become so unpopular in the area.

"This is what we are trying to ascertain," he said. "We are looking at the problem. I am confident, however, that the people of South Sumatra still wants a police presence to safeguard security and order," he said.

Police have yet to make any arrests.