Babysitter arrested for alleged jewelry theft

JAKARTA (JP): Kebayoran Lama Police detectives in South Jakarta have arrested a 15-year-old babysitter for allegedly stealing 10 gold and diamond rings worth at least Rp 35 million (US$4,900) from the house of her employer.

Head of the subprecinct detectives unit, First Lt. Ayep Wahyu, identified the suspect on Wednesday as Purwati, who started working at the residence of Lili on Jl. Praja in South Jakarta eight days ago.

The teenager was found by the police hiding at a rented house of a friend, Taufik, in Condet, East Jakarta, on Tuesday, a few hours after allegedly committing the crime.

The police were able to trace her whereabouts with the help of a woman called Iis, who had recommended Purwati to work for Lili's family.

Purwati reportedly confessed to stealing some of the valuable rings from the dressing table in her employer's bedroom and the rest from a cupboard drawer in another room of the house on Tuesday afternoon, officer Ayep said.

"Purwati took them and left the house without saying goodbye to anybody, except Dila, 10, Lili's daughter who Purwati was hired to babysit," the officer added.

A few minutes after Purwati left the house, Iis arrived and asked for the babysitter.

"Lili first lied and said that Purwati was unwell and was asleep in the back of the house. But when Iis entered the house, Lili caught her and called us," Ayep said.

The police later learned that the babysitter had a beeper with her.

"We then beeped her using Iis's name, saying that Iis wanted to meet her in Lebak Bulus. But she never showed up," he added.

Based on information from Iis, Ayep and his team rushed to Tariq's house in Condet and detained the teenage babysitter.

Purwati allegedly confessed to stealing the rings, because: "I wanted to keep them. They would've looked nice on my fingers."

Purwati also had an Indonesian Islamic Country (NII) membership card in her possession. Police are still investigating the case. (ylt)