Driver charged with stealing Rp 600m

BANYUMAS, Central Java: A 43-year-old driver working for Bank Rakyat Indonesia's (BRI) Banjarnegara branch in Central Java was arrested on Tuesday after a 12-day manhunt after he fled with 600 million of customers' money.

Banyumas police chief Sr. Comr. R. Nata Kesuma said that Suhartono, a resident of Wangon subdistrict in Banjarnegara regency, was arrested at his new house in Cianjur, West Java.

The suspect had just purchased the house at Rp 85 million, and was living there with a woman believed to be his new wife, Nata said. "The house was being renovated," he said.

He said that Suhartono was detained at the Cianjur police office and would soon be moved to Banyumas.

Nata said that the police also arrested four other men in connection with the theft.

Suhartono disappeared on Feb. 1, despite the fact that there were two policemen escorting his BRI car which had Rp 600 million inside.

The theft took place while the police were eating lunch on Jl. Sudirman in Purwokerto. --JP