Withdrawing cash? Ask for police for help<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police are recommending that bank customers who withdraw
\na large amount of money avail of a free police escort service in
\nan effort to curb rampant robbery attempts.<\/p>\n
\"It's better for customers to first contact the police for an
\nescort before they withdraw money,\" said Jakarta Police
\nspokesperson Sr. Comr. Prasetyo over the weekend. \"As far as I
\nknow, the police never refuse to assist the public. Moreover, the
\nservice is free of charge.\"<\/p>\n
Customers requesting police assistance, have to notify the
\npolice in advance because the number of officers is limited.<\/p>\n
He also reminded the public to use the police hotline 112 in
\nemergencies.<\/p>\n
Robberies, sometimes violent, of bank customers have been on
\nthe rise. In early February, four unidentified men robbed a
\nFrenchman Paul Quinn who had just withdrawn Rp 140 million
\n(US$16,500) from a bank in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. One of
\nthe robbers even shot at Quinn but the bullet went through the
\ndriver's window and lodged in the dashboard. The robbers are
\nstill at large.<\/p>\n
Two bank robbers, Suparjo and Jumadhi, arrested by police in
\nJanuary, admitted that they had observed all customers coming out
\nof banks. They would identify who had just withdrawn a large
\namount of money and later followed them.<\/p>\n
The two suspects had watched Yani Ladhi coming out of a bank
\non Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, carrying a large brown
\nenvelope. They later followed Ladhi's car and waited before she
\ngot out of the vehicle. Later, they broke into Ladhi's parked car
\nand fled with Rp 9 million inside a brown enveloped she had kept
\nunder the driver's seat.<\/p>\n
An officer with a state-owned bank, who requested anonymity,
\ntold The Jakarta Post that security outside bank branches was not
\nthe responsibility of the bank.<\/p>\n
\"We are responsible for security inside the bank, we have
\nseveral guards inside and in the parking lots,\" the officer said.
\n\"The guards in parking areas are always on the lookout for any
\nsuspicious people around the compound.\"<\/p>\n
Therefore, he advised bank customers to use the online service
\nwhen they wanted to transfer money.<\/p>\n
\"Banks now have advanced technology to transfer money in a
\nmore practical, faster and safer way ,\" he said. \"It won't take
\nmuch effort to transfer salaries to your employees. Sometimes, I
\nwonder why customers are still willing to take the risk of
\nwithdrawing cash, whereas it's much safer to transfer through the
\nonline system.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/withdrawing-cash-ask-for-police-for-help-1447893297",
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