Dept. Store owner's relative kidnapped, Rp 7b ransom

JAKARTA (JP): A man was kidnapped on Saturday evening, apparently because he was mistaken for his brother, owner of the country's largest retail chain PT Matahari Putra Prima, a police officer said on Wednesday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bahrul Alam said that Bill Dharmawan, the younger brother of Hari Dharmawan, was kidnapped and his abductors have demanded a ransom of Rp 7 billion (US$777,000).

Bill was believed to have been kidnapped at about 7:30 p.m. at Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta after he and his son Yeri Dharmawan had been shopping there.

According to Yeri, his father asked him to go home in their car while Bill met friends at the mall.

"I will go home by taxi later," Bill was quoted by Yeri as saying.

However, Bill never returned home.

Realizing that his father was missing, Yeri filed a report with North Jakarta Police on Monday.

On Tuesday, Bill's son-in-law, Agus Tumewu received a phone call from Bill's kidnapper, requesting a ransom.

"Agus received two calls from a man through his cellular phone on Tuesday," Anton said.

He said that police had summoned Hari to be questioned as a witness.

"We hope that we can question him soon, but he is currently still in Makassar, South Sulawesi," Anton said.

Anton suspected that the kidnappers may hope to get the ransom from Hari as it is unlikely that his 57-year-old brother would be able to pay the amount.

Bill, a resident of Jl. Puspa Gading, Kelapa Gading Permai housing complex, North Jakarta, is a private businessman.

"Bill has several businesses, including a property business, but it seems that he would not be able to pay the Rp 7 billion ransom," Anton said.

"We're sure that money is the motive behind the kidnapping. The kidnappers probably hope that Hari will help pay the ransom," Anton said.

He said police have set up a special team, led by North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Andi Chairuddin, to investigate the case.

The team has questioned several witnesses, including Agus Tumewu, a businessman in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta, who may be known by the kidnappers.

Several of the victim's close friends, identified as Yusuf and Ricky, and his secretary Uli Siregar, have also been questioned by the team, he said.

Bill's wife has not yet been questioned, as she has not recovered from the distress caused by her husband's abduction, Anton revealed.

He said that police had also cooperated with state-owned telecommunication firm PT Telkom to trace the phone calls received by Agus.

He hoped that the public would be able to provide some information regarding the whereabouts of Bill, who is 168 centimeters tall, weighs 75 kilograms and has black hair.

He said the victim was wearing a yellow shirt and brown denim jeans when he was last seen at Kelapa Gading Mall. (jun)