Japanese man stabbed to death, taxi driver sought<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A Japanese man was stabbed to death and his
\ncompatriot wounded when the taxi they were in was robbed in the
\nCinangka subdistrict of Sawangan in West Java early yesterday.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang identified the
\ndead man as Yamamoto, 32, and his injured companion as Okada, 49.
\nBoth were employees of a joint venture company, PT Tusunaka
\nPlastic Indonesia, in Bekasi, West Java.<\/p>\n
\"Preliminary investigations have shown that the two were
\nvictims of an armed robbery allegedly committed by the taxi
\ndriver and an accomplice.\"<\/p>\n
He said Yamamoto was the first foreigner to die as a result of
\ncriminal offenses this year. At least three foreigners died
\nviolently last year, according to existing data.<\/p>\n
Yamamoto died at the scene from severe stab wounds to the
\nchest and neck. Okada suffered minor injuries to the palms of his
\nhands.<\/p>\n
Aritonang said the two men were robbed on their way home after
\nvisiting a karaoke pub in Blok M, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The robbers made off with Rp 3 million in the form of cash and
\na gold ring, he said.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said the taxi driver allegedly picked up another
\npassenger on the way to Kemang in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said the two expatriates were allegedly drunk because the
\nsurvivor could remember little about the incident.<\/p>\n
\"Okada, for instance, could not remember clearly what type of
\ntaxi he got in, where the taxi driver took him or where the other
\npassenger got into the car.<\/p>\n
\"We should wait for the result of the postmortem examination
\non Yamamoto in regard to the (drunkenness) allegation.\"<\/p>\n
He said Okada could only remember that the taxi was
\npredominantly blue in color.<\/p>\n
\"But there are lots of taxis which are painted blue.\"<\/p>\n
Aritonang said the taxi driver must have deliberately taken
\nthe men via Kemang instead of heading straight to their
\ndestination in Tebet, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The suspect then picked up his accomplice somewhere.\"<\/p>\n
The head of information and culture at the Japanese Embassy,
\nNoboru Nomura, confirmed yesterday that the two victims were
\nJapanese citizens.<\/p>\n
\"Information we have collected from the company shows that
\nboth Yamamoto and Okada have worked at the company since July
\nlast year,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Nomura refused to elaborate on the men's position or status in
\nthe company or whether they had registered themselves upon
\narrival in the country.<\/p>\n
He also refused to comment on police's suspicions that the men
\nwere drunk at the time of incident.<\/p>\n
But he said Okada had undergone questioning as a witness in
\nthe case at Depok Police precinct and was scheduled to leave for
\nJapan last night.<\/p>\n
\"He was only slightly injured. Besides, he had made plans to
\nreturn (to Japan) long before the incident took place.\"<\/p>\n
Nomura said his office was still waiting for information from
\nYamamoto's family in Japan before it made any funeral
\narrangements.<\/p>\n
\"Yamamoto was actually planning to go back to Japan next
\nmonth.\"<\/p>\n
Yamamoto's body is being kept at Cipto Mangunkusumo General
\nHospital in Central Jakarta after a postmortem examination was
\nconducted yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
Most of his colleagues and friends, who came to identify his
\nbody at Cipto's morgue yesterday, declined to comment about the
\nincident.<\/p>\n
\"This is a very personal matter and it's not supposed to be
\nexposed,\" one of them said.<\/p>\n
The hospital's forensic doctor, Mun'im Idries, said both
\nYamamoto and Okada may have been under the influence of alcohol
\nwhen they got into the taxi.<\/p>\n
\"But I can't give any figures about how much they probably had
\nto drink,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Depok Police chief Lt. Col. Fajar Prihantoro said officers
\nwere searching for the suspects.<\/p>\n
\"We've got some leads about the suspects. My men are now
\nlooking for the taxi which is believed to have been used to
\ntransport the victims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fajar declined to identify the taxi company or the names of
\nthe suspects.<\/p>\n
\"We hope they can be caught soon,\" was all he would say.
\n(04\/cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/japanese-man-stabbed-to-death-taxi-driver-sought-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}