'August mob' rocks Ambon

'August mob' rocks Ambon

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Bank employees across the city were
dumbfounded Monday when they opened their doors only to find huge
crowds fighting their way in to have bank notes with serial
numbers ending in 23 and 73 exchanged for 10 times the nominal
value.

Police were called in anticipation of an incident. The crowds
in front of Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Central Asia were so
huge that they triggered heavy traffic jams during the morning
rush hour.

The people dispersed peacefully only after the banks announced
that the news about the "lucky" bank notes was untrue.

Bank officials apparently knew only too well how not to
disappoint people. They told the booing crowds they were welcomed
to exchange their worn out banknotes for brand new ones.

Antara reported yesterday that the bizarre news was broadcast
last weekend by a private TV station. The lies swept through the
markets and coffee stalls on the city's streets.

It turned out that the numbers were related to the year the
late First Lady Tien Soeharto was born, 1923, and the age she
died, 73.

"We spent the whole day answering telephone enquiries about
the rumors," said Susanto Budiatmoko, deputy chief of the local
branch of the central bank, Bank Indonesia. (pan)