Bus hijacker mentally sound: police

Bus hijacker mentally sound: police

JAKARTA: Police said on Monday that the suspect in a recent
attempted bus hijacking, Eko Purwanto, was of sound mind.

"Police rushed him to the hospital not because of his being
insane but due to injuries inflicted on him by an angry mob. He
was fully in possession of his wits when he hijacked the bus,"
said Jakarta Police detectives' chief Sr. Comr. Mathius
Salempang.

Eko is still being held at police headquarters.

"He has been charged under article 368 of the Criminal Code on
extortion," he said, adding that Eko could face a maximum
sentence of nine years in jail.

The unemployed man tried to hijack a shuttle bus heading to
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Rawamangun, East
Jakarta, on the Pluit toll road in North Jakarta last Wednesday
with three fake pipe bombs wired up to a toy cell phone. His
motive was the theft of the passengers' belongings.

His action was foiled by bus driver Rianto, who stopped the
bus next to a police patrol car parked on the side of the toll
road.

Rianto and his conductor have been awarded a token of
appreciation by the city police's traffic division for their
success in foiling the hijacking, along with the four police
officers who arrested Eko. -- JP