Bogus police flees with Rp 2m

JAKARTA (JP): A man posing as a policeman absconded with Rp 2 million after pretending to search for drugs in the bag of a bajaj (motorized pedicab) passenger on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta Raya in Sawah Besar district of Central Jakarta late on Monday.

Sawah Besar subprecinct police chief of intelligence detective First. Insp. Robert Sitinjak said on Tuesday that the victim, identified as 27-year old Sim Emilia, a resident of Mangga Dua district of West Jakarta, had just left her shop for home when a man who claimed to be a policeman stopped the vehicle in front of Aquila hotel and told her he was conducting a raid on drugs.

"The victim believed that the man in brown pants, black jacket and a walkie-talkie in hand, was a police officer. She let him search her bag which contained Rp 2 million in cash," Robert said.

He said the bogus police officer told the victim that he had found a packet of heroin. He said he had to seize the packet along with the money as evidence and ran away.

The victim said she felt as if she had been hypnotized. When she regained consciousness, the man had escaped. (01)