Ex-governor robbed of his belongings

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police detectives on Friday were still tracing the whereabouts of four thieves who stole cash and jewelry worth Rp 300 million from the house of the former governor of West Kalimantan, Sudjiman.

According to Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna, the four suspects have already been identified thanks to tips from one of their associates, who was arrested after making a call to a cellular phone left at the scene of the crime by the robbers.

"We are still hunting for the thieves, who are believed to have fled to a town in Central Java," a police officer, Iman, said on Friday.

Sudjiman, 71, told the local police that his house on Jl. Plaju in Tanah Abang was robbed on Tuesday morning when he and his family left the house to perform their Idul Fitri prayers.

When they returned home at about 11 a.m., the family found that their home had been burglarized and the thieves had taken Rp 50 million and US$2,000 in cash, gold and diamond jewelry, and 15 wristwatches of various brand names, Iman said.

"The thieves forced the door open with a crowbar and entered the empty house," he added.

Police officers who arrived at the house after receiving a complaint from the former governor discovered a cellular phone believed to belong to one of the thieves, he said.

A man thought to be a friend of the robbers called the cellular phone and was later arrested by police, Iman said, refusing to give further details about the man. (jun)