3 men wounded in taxi robberies

JAKARTA (JP): Three people were injured and Rp 34 million in cash stolen in separate armed robberies on Monday and Tuesday, police said.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said one of the incidents took place on Tuesday in Cipinang Muara, East Jakarta.

The victims, Mahadi Hamid, 53, and Sugiyo, 40, were getting out of a President Taxi after withdrawing Rp 34 million from a nearby bank to pay the salaries of their high school employees, he said.

"Two unidentified men on a motorbike attacked them, wounding Mahadi's right hand and striking Sugiyo on the head, before making off with the money," Aritonang said.

The other robbery occurred on Monday on Jl. Sumbawa, Menteng, Central Jakarta, he said.

Police arrested the alleged robber, identified as Agus Setiawan, 22, after he was beaten by an angry mob at the scene of the crime.

"He hailed an Express Taxi and attempted to rob the driver, Karto Mulyono, 65, after stabbing him three times with a bayonet," Aritonang said.

Aritonang added that a third robbery, in which a con man relieved a victim of Rp 5 million after first hypnotizing her, took place on Tuesday.

The victim, identified as Patriyani, 32, was put into a trance by a dandy man as she waited for a taxi at a bus stop on Jl. Gajah Mada, West Jakarta. (edt)