Debt collectors arrested

JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested four debt collectors for damaging the house of a bank costumer on Jl. Pegangsaan, in Central Jakarta.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira said the four, identified as Jony, Yunus, Budi and Rony, were arrested after the house owner, Ino Chento, reported them to the police on Thursday morning.

"The four men said that they were under orders from Citibank," Abubakar said yesterday.

He said that the debt collectors had a letter signed by J. Sugiarto, the head of Citibank's collection department.

A security officer of Citibank said that he went to the Central Jakarta police precinct to make sure that the four men were working for the bank.

"We also wanted to know what agency they came from," he said, explaining that Citibank uses some collections agencies to collect on bad loans.

Ino said the four men came to her house to demand that she pay the Rp 10 million (US$4,300) credit card bill of her son-in-law, Kris Kolaka.

The four men became angry and broke windows when Ino refused.

One of the men, Yunus, who was reportedly drunk, got into a fight with another man at the house. Yunus suffered injuries to his head during the altercation.

The men demanded that Ino give them Rp 100,000 to pay for medical treatment. They then took a member of Ino's family hostage and went to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

The police apprehended the debt collectors at the hospital after receiving a report from Ino. (jun)