Eight jailed for Rp1b shoe theft

JAKARTA (JP): The North Jakarta District Court sentenced eight men on Thursday to three and a half months in jail each for stealing shoes worth a total of Rp 1 billion (US$132,000).

Presiding judge Mansur Nasution said defendants Marseli, Nurdin Umar, Samlawi, Pujiono, Sariyadi, Surianto, Toni Hidayat and Salim, were arrested in Tanjung Priok port on Sept. 28, this year.

Mansur told the court that the defendants, who were container truck drivers and assistants of a transportation company, stole Reebok shoes from the factory of PT Dong Jo, a South Korean- Indonesian joint venture, in the Pasar Kemis area, Tangerang at different times between January and September this year.

"Their crimes could also reduce the costumers' trust in the transportation company," Mansur said, without mentioning the name of the company.

According to the judge, the defendants were assigned by their company to transport the shoes from the factory to the port for export shipment to the United States.

It was during their arrivals at the port that the gang of eight frequently stole the shoes from the containers.

On each occasion, the group "took some 30 pairs of shoes", Mansur said.

The shoes, priced between Rp 150,000 and Rp 200,000 per pair in the stores were then sold by the eight defendants at Rp 30,000 each to several buyers in the area, he said.

According to Dong Jo's marketing manager Hadi Susanto, the firm had suffered losses of Rp 1 billion because of the theft. (jun)