Buses for tsunami-hit areas stripped for parts
Buses for tsunami-hit areas stripped for parts
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Thirty-seven buses donated by Islamic Relief London for tsunami-
hit areas in Aceh were stripped for their parts while waiting to
be released by the customs office at Belawan Port in Medan.
The stolen parts included batteries, seats, loudspeakers,
hydraulic systems and mirrors, which can all be resold for
relatively high prices. A battery, for instance, might fetch Rp 2
million (US$215).
The secretary of North Sumatra's disaster and tsunami
management coordination unit, Nurlisa Ginting, said on Saturday
her office had taken possession of the eight buses from the
customs office on Friday and moved them to a transportation
office building in Medan to prevent any more damage being done to
the vehicles.
She said the incident was embarrassing for the country since
the buses were donated by a foreign group for disaster victims.
She said the Belawan customs office should have done more to
protect the buses, adding that the customs office should be held
responsible for the stolen parts.
"All of the buses were being held by the customs office, which
means it should be held responsible for the theft," Nurlisa told
The Jakarta Post.
The head of investigations and crime prevention at Belawan's
custom office, Cerah Bangun, confirmed the incident, saying there
were no suspects and it was the first case of its kind to occur
at the port.
He said that last month, Islamic Relief London sent 37 buses
for the Indonesian government to help tsunami victims. "All of
the buses reached the port a month ago. We kept the buses because
they did not have a permit from the minister of trade," Cerah
said.
When asked whether the customs office would take
responsibility for the theft, Cerah said port security was the
authority of several offices, including port police and
administrators.
"This is a sensitive case and we do not want to blame anyone.
But this incident should serve as a lesson to improve security at
the port," Cerah said.
He said the buses were not the only assistance waiting to be
distributed to tsunami-affected areas. Many other donated items
had been left stranded at the port over the last six months
because no one took responsibility for their distribution to
Aceh.
"There are some 843 containers of assistance for tsunami
victims piled up at the port, most of them containing rice.
"Of hundreds of vehicles sent from abroad for tsunami-hit
areas that were being held here due to a lack of permits, only 18
of the vehicles are still at the port and the rest have been sent
to Aceh," Cerah said.
He added that these remaining 18 vehicles were in perfect
condition and had not been touched by thieves.