Bogus reporters arrested

JAKARTA (JP): The police have arrested four men alleged to have masqueraded as journalists to blackmail a government official by threatening to publish details of his extra-marital affair.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Tuesday, the alleged blackmailers said they would publish details of the official's affair, unless he paid for their silence.

He said the official gave the men Rp 7.5 million before telling the police.

"The four men first asked for Rp 5 million (US$2,083). Later one of them called and said he had a picture of the woman, and asked for Rp 2.5 million," Aritonang said.

He said two of the men, Zulkarnain Nasution, 32, of Jl. Johar Baru Utara, Central Jakarta, and Achyar Matondang, 31, of Jl. Taman Sari, Bogor, West Java, claimed to represent a daily called Gelora Pembangunan Indonesia based in Depok, West Java.

Achmad Suryani, 45, of Permata II Estate, Bekasi, had claimed to be an editor from the PIP magazine in Buaran, East Jakarta, and Aidil Ian Matondang, 36, of Taman Warna Sari Indah, Bekasi, claimed to work for the Dharma weekly in Semarang, Central Java. (cst)