Bandits pull off daylight robbery

JAKARTA (JP): A group of five armed robbers broke into a South Jakarta house in broad daylight on Friday and made off with Rp 80 million in cash, four cellular phones and jewelry worth hundreds of millions of rupiah.

Armed with machetes, sickles and a pistol, the robbers met with little resistance, finding only the housewife and her maid in the two-story house at Buncit Indah housing complex in Pasar Minggu. The house belongs to the owner of the Tira jeans manufacturers.

After incapacitating the two women and cutting off the telephone lines, the five men gathered the family's valuables and reportedly left the scene quietly in a red Suzuki Espass minivan.

Police believe the robbery, which occurred at 11 a.m., was planned and lead by one of the men, who covered his face with a hat throughout the robbery.

"One of them must have been familiar with the family as he doesn't want his face seen or known," an officer from the Pasar Minggu police subdistrict said.

According to Yana and her maid, Inem, the robbers first pretended to be looking for Yana's daughter, Tiara.

Maid Inem said she was about to explain that Tiara was actually in London studying modeling when the robbers drew their weapons and forced their way into the house.

"One of the robbers hit Yana on the head when he asked for the family's safe box," the police said.

Some of the family's valuable goods and jewelry had been hidden in their black Mercedes Benz sedan in the garage.

The car and the valuables inside the vehicle were left untouched by the bandits, who reportedly spent about one hour at the house.

After the robbers fled, the two women were able to untie themselves, and Yana ran to one of her neighbors to telephone her husband, Kian Kunjung, 45.

According to police, Yana, who was a model and movie star in the 1970's, was unable to give detailed information about the robbers as she was still in shock. (emf)