`Malaysian' tricksters arrested for fraud<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police said on Thursday they had arrested three tricksters
\npretending to be Malaysians who tricked their victims here into
\nexchanging their money and other belongings with the suspects'
\noutdated Brazilian pesos.<\/p>\n
\"We arrested them while trying to cheat a would-be victim on
\nJl. Martadinata, Ciputat, Tangerang,\" said Adj. Sr. Comr. Joko
\nWahyudi, a senior officer of the Jakarta police detectives.<\/p>\n
The suspects, who spoke with a phony Malaysian accent while
\noperating, were identified as Yan Carol Ivansyah, 40, Yanto, 30,
\nand A.A. Kurnia, 39.<\/p>\n
Yan is a resident of Jl. Soka, Curug, Tangerang, and Yanto
\nfrom Kramat Pulo, Senen, Central Jakarta, while Kurnia is Yanto's
\nneighbor.<\/p>\n
Joko said the police seized 16 banknotes of outdated Brazilian
\npesos from the suspects as evidence in their fraud case, adding
\nthe arrests followed a tip off from locals.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Yan claimed that his
\ngroup had been operating for four months in different areas
\nacross the capital, using a rented car.<\/p>\n
In every operation, each of the groups managed to take away
\nbetween Rp 600,000 and Rp 1 million from their respective
\nvictims, he added.<\/p>\n
Yan said he and his accomplices targeted middle-aged well-
\ndressed women who walked alone on the street with eye-catching
\nvaluables or bags.<\/p>\n
\"We pretended to ask whether she could show us an address and
\noffered her Rp 100,000 as a commission. Later, we offered to
\nexchange 1,000 Brazilian pesos with Rp 5 million. She accepted
\nthe offer after we told her that it was valued at Rp 5 million,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Many victims, Yan said, could be cheated easily as they
\nthought they had profited by the exchange.<\/p>\n
To further convince their victims, Yan said he told them they
\nhad just come from Malaysia and had no Indonesian rupiah to pay
\nthe commission.<\/p>\n
He admitted that he learned this modus operandi from
\nnewspapers and television reports.<\/p>\n
\"I learned from newspaper stories how to deceive victims,
\nhypnotize them and the like, while I practiced a Malaysian accent
\nfrom watching TV,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another suspect, Yanto, said he had purchased the outdated
\npesos for Rp 10,000 a note at Pasar Baru market in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Dede, the owner of the car rented by the suspects, said he
\nknew nothing about the fraud.<\/p>\n
\"I only knew that they rented my car for business purposes,
\nbut I didn't know that they used it for criminal activities,\" he
\nsaid angrily.<\/p>\n
He said the suspects rented his car for five days and he
\ncharged them Rp 1.3 million.<\/p>\n
Joko said the suspects could be charged under Article 378 of
\nthe Criminal Code on fraud, for which they face a maximum
\nsentence of four years in prison.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-tricksters-arrested-for-fraud-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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