'Hijackers' of passenger ship set free in Ujungpandang<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): A group of hijackers were
\nlet off lightly, following their hijacking of the Bukit Siguntang
\npassenger ship on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred when the ship, which was carrying 900
\npassengers, left Ambon's Yos Sudarso Harbor for Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
The hijackers, believed to number over 100 people, began their
\ntakeover about 30 minutes after the ship left the harbor.<\/p>\n
They forced their way to the bridge and held the ship's
\ncaptain, FA Harahap, hostage.<\/p>\n
Following the at times perplexing orders of the hijackers, the
\nship turned back twice -- once near Ambon and once near Bau-bau
\nHarbor in Buton -- but subsequently resumed its course.<\/p>\n
Security officers on board were unable to defend the ship
\nagainst the hijacker's substantial presence.<\/p>\n
A ship security officer on board, who requested anonymity,
\nsaid the hijackers controlled the bridge for most of the trip,
\nand threatened to burn the ship if they encountered resistance.<\/p>\n
The hijackers spent most of their time on board the vessel
\nchecking the passengers' identity documents. They also ransacked
\nthe belongings of several travelers.<\/p>\n
Most of the travelers were refugees fleeing the ethnic and
\nreligious strife which has hit Ambon this year.<\/p>\n
Despite the seriousness of the incident, once the ship berthed
\nin Ujungpandang, the hijackers were not detained.<\/p>\n
PT Pelni's head of operations in Ujungpandang, Agus Harry P.,
\nconfirmed the incident. He said a group of people involved in the
\nethnic clashes in Ambon hijacked the ship for several hours.<\/p>\n
\"Yes it was a bit like a hijacking, because apart from looting
\npassengers' belongings they also took control of the ship,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Agus acknowledged that authorities released the hijackers,
\nsaying they wished to prevent an \"unwanted incident\" from
\noccurring.<\/p>\n
\"When we received information about the incident we
\nimmediately contacted the police and TNI (the Indonesian
\nMilitary). However, after some deliberations we decided to just
\nlet them go,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Spiraling violence in the area has led state-owned PT Pelni to
\nconsider the temporary suspension of all services to and from
\nAmbon, Maluku.<\/p>\n
Agus claimed that there were three to six suspicious deaths of
\npassengers taking the Ambon-Ujungpandang route each time the ship
\nset sail.<\/p>\n
He added that the owners of the Bukit Siguntang vessel had
\nsubmitted a request to suspend their operations. Another ship,
\nLambelu, stopped plying the route last month. (27\/02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hijackers-of-passenger-ship-set-free-in-ujungpandang-1447893297",
"image": ""
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