Elite burglars

Not only has the frequency of crimes increased but so has their finesse. Money is not the sole target of thieves anymore. Items such as expensive paintings are coveted.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, as I was taking my usual morning walk, I was accosted by a night watchman guarding one of the mansions in my neighborhood. The night before, he told me, several burglars in two Toyota Kijang cars forcibly entered a house by cutting the chain on the gate. They got away with five priceless paintings. The owners of the house, two elderly people, heard the unwelcome guests entering at three in the morning but dared not shout for help for fear of being attacked. Burglars nowadays do not hesitate to harm their victims if they resist or shout for help.

Present day burglars are more clever in comparison with their predecessors. For instance, they know the value of Lee Man Fong's (famous Chinese painter) paintings. The odd thing in this story is that the above victim confided to me that 15 paintings have also been stolen from his Puncak bungalow.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta