Gang pulls off RI's biggest train robbery<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
About 40 people hijacked three Serayu economy-class train cars
\nand robbed all passengers on board, making it the worst train
\nrobbery in the country's history, an official said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The thieves robbed the passengers as the train headed to
\nKroya, Central Java, from Jakarta, on Thursday, said state train
\noperator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Bandung operations
\nspokesman Sukendar Mulya.<\/p>\n
At least 30 passengers lost their valuables in the robbery and
\nsix others were thrown from the train after they fought with the
\nrobbers. As of Saturday, police had arrested seven of the 40
\nrobbers. \"There were no security personnel on board the train. We
\nregret that,\" said Sukendar.<\/p>\n
Train security personnel, who are under the command of the
\ncompany, usually guard business- and executive-class trains,
\nwhile, until recently, economy-class trains were guarded by
\npolice officers hired by the company.<\/p>\n
\"The officers were absent because they were called in by their
\nsuperiors to help with security for the legislative and
\npresidential elections this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to a statement from a witness, the thieves commenced
\nthe robbery as the train headed to Kroya from Jakarta's Kota
\nstation on Thursday night. They were disguised as train vendors,
\naccording to PT KAI official Akhmad Sudjadi, who quoted from
\neyewitness Usman Tony, 32.<\/p>\n
Some of them boarded the train when it stopped at Jatinegara
\nstation, East Jakarta, on its way to Kroya.<\/p>\n
The train comprised eight cars: three passenger cars in front,
\nfollowed by a generator car, a restaurant car and three more
\npassenger cars.<\/p>\n
As the train reached Bekasi, the lights in the last three cars
\nsuddenly went out: The robbers appear to have severed an
\nelectricity cable somewhere on the train. They began to force the
\npassengers to hand over their valuables. Usman resisted the
\nrobbers, so he was dragged to a door by some of them and thrown
\nout somewhere in the Karawang area.<\/p>\n
Five other passengers suffered the same fate as he. Usman
\nsuffered only light injuries, and walked to nearby Karawang
\nstation to summon help.<\/p>\n
With the train still in Karawang, the robbers activated the
\nemergency brake and left the train, according to other witnesses.<\/p>\n
Karawang Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Iwan RS said on
\nSaturday that the fate of the five other passengers thrown from
\nthe train was still unknown.<\/p>\n
\"However, I'm confident they're safe, because no fatalities
\nwere reported along the railway line,\" he said.<\/p>\n
PT KAI spokesman Noor Hamidi apologized for the incident and
\nsaid that the company would ask the police to reassign at least
\ntwo officers to every economy-class train in future. Following
\nthe incident, the company stated that it also planned to prohibit
\ncasual food and beverage vendors from boarding trains.<\/p>",
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