Burglars break into journalist's house

Burglars break into journalist's house

Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A group of three burglars broke into the home of a New York Times
journalist in the upmarket Menteng area, Central Jakarta, early
on Friday, and stole two laptop computers, a computer monitor and
a bag full of documents.

Central Jakarta police chief Sr. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan said
on Friday that officers were attempting to track down the
culprits who broke into the house of Jane Perlez and her husband
Ray Bonners.

"We are investigating the case. We suspect members of a
burglary syndicate are involved." he told The Jakarta Post on
Friday.

He said that at least three burglars broke into the house,
which is located on Jl. Muh. Yamin, at around 1 a.m. through the
left side of the building that is currently undergoing
renovation.

Sukrawardi said that the burglars only managed to take two
laptops, a computer monitor, and a bag as it seems they were in a
hurry to get out of the house.

"They probably jumped from a wall on the left side of the
house without much difficulty as it is under construction. They
just grabbed whatever they could to avoid getting caught. We are
not sure if they knew what was inside the bag," he said.

Mida Sutikno, the security guard at the house, said that he
did not know when the burglars entered the house but added that a
night shift security guard, identified as Murdi, found signs of
the burglary at 5:00 a.m..

He said that the thieves jumped into the house from a wall on
the left side when everybody in the house, including the owners,
were asleep.

Sukrawardi said that the police had not ruled out the
possibility that an insider was involved.

"That's why we will question everyone, including the security
guards, to find clues. We want to know why the security guards
did not know that a group of people had entered the house," he
said.

Residences in the area are tightly guarded as many high-
ranking government officials and foreign diplomats live there.

Beside having guards to watch over the residential estate as a
whole, each of the houses have their own security guards who work
in shifts.

In addition, there is a military command office not far from
Jl. Muh. Yamin.