Fugitive minibus driver captured at last<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ramses Silitonga, the driver of the Metromini
\nbus which careened into a river here last March killing 33
\npassengers, has been captured.<\/p>\n
The police announced yesterday that the suspect was captured
\nin North Sumatra on Thursday afternoon after six months on the
\nrun. Ramses, 33, fled responsibility after the packed minibus he
\ndrove recklessly careened into the muddy and heavily polluted
\nSunter river along Jl. Yos Sudarso, North Jakarta, on March 6.<\/p>\n
Ramses had reportedly changed his name into Ucok Sitompul
\nbefore he was employed as a contract worker at a timber mill in
\nTanjung Mulia village in the Kampung Rakyat subdistrict, Labuhan
\nBatu regency, North Sumatra, when he was captured by police
\nofficers at around 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"He is still being questioned in North Sumatra, and is
\nscheduled to be transferred here today on the last flight,\" Brig.
\nGen. IK Ratta, spokesman for the national police, told reporters
\nyesterday morning.<\/p>\n
Ramses was reportedly driving at high speed in a race with
\nother buses and lost control of his bus at a turn. The bus
\nplunged into the river.<\/p>\n
The accident killed 33 passengers and injured several others,
\nwhile Ramses managed to save himself from drowning by escaping
\nthrough the broken windshield. He had been in hiding ever since.<\/p>\n
City police quickly formed a special team to hunt for him.
\nNational Police Chief Gen. Banurusman announced him a national
\nfugitive, calling for police all over the country to jointly
\nsearch for the driver.<\/p>\n
Police managed to find his wife, Rusmaida Siahaan, last week
\nafter continuously keeping an eye on their elementary-school son
\nwho lived with his grandfather in Kebun Bawang district, North
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
During interrogation, Ramses related how, after getting out of
\nthe muddy river, he had stopped a taxi and rushed to the Cipto
\nMangunkusumo General Hospital for medical treatment.<\/p>\n
All his relatives rushed to the hospital and took him and his
\nwife to the house of one of their friends, identified as Ah, who
\nlives in Cengkareng district, West Jakarta. The couple stayed
\nthere ten days.<\/p>\n
Ramses decided to return to his hometown of Siborong-Borong,
\nNorth Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, along with his wife. They
\nleft for Bandung by bus and stayed there several days to avoid
\npolice detection.<\/p>\n
Hide<\/p>\n
Leaving his wife alone in Bandung, Ramses took another bus to
\nBakauheni port in Lampung where he changed buses for Rantau
\nParapat in Labuhan Batu regency, North Sumatra, from where he
\nproceeded to his hometown, Siborong-borong.<\/p>\n
His relatives, who had learnt of his case through newspaper
\nreports, advised him to hide himself in Labuhan Batu regency.<\/p>\n
Ramses changed his name to Ucok Sitompul and worked as a daily
\ncontract worker at the timber mill PT Pemudjur in Tandjung Mulia.
\nBut police finally managed to track him down with the aid of tips
\nfrom the public.<\/p>\n
To ensure that the person they had tailed was the real Ramses,
\nplainclothes officers approached him, calling him by his real
\nname on Thursday afternoon while he was walking in the village.<\/p>\n
Seeing \"Ucok\" respond by turning his head towards them, the
\nofficers quickly handcuffed him and took him to the Kampung
\nRakyat police station for interrogation.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Ratta said his relatives had confirmed that it was
\nRamses that the police had captured.<\/p>\n
Ratta criticized the lack of legal compliance of Ramses'
\nrelatives who harbored him instead of turning him in to law
\nenforcers.<\/p>\n
\"We shall take appropriate measures to all people who harbored
\nhim,\" the spokesman said. (jsk)<\/p>",
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