Ex-servant arrested for stealing car

A former domestic helper who is believed to have stolen a new Mercedes Benz sedan from his former employer's house has been arrested with an associate in Pancoran.

Head of the Pancoran police station in South Jakarta, Maj. Syafrizal, announced yesterday that Tomo, 21, a disgruntled, former servant, was arrested Wednesday. He was brought in after his partner, Sutrisno, 25, went to see the stolen car which they had allegedly parked in the back yard of the Kalibata National Heroes' Cemetery.

Tomo said that he had planned out the theft of the car from his former employer "in order to teach him a lesson."

"I really hated him because he was constantly reprimanding me for vague reasons," he said candidly. He added that he and his friend finally abandoned the car after failing to locate a prospective buyer.

Tomo said that he resigned from his job at Ali Abdullah's house on Jl. Kalindra 1 in Mampang Selatan, two months ago, after having been employed there for more than a month. He said he was paid Rp 50,000 (US$22.90) per month for certain duties, such as cleaning floors and rooms.

Tomo, who was unable to drive, said that he had been long waiting to meet up with his close friend Sutrisno, a skilled driver of exclusive cars, to carry out his plan.

In the wee hours of the morning Monday, the two broke into Ali's house and stole the car.

Sutrisno thought he would be able to sell the car to a fence in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta.

Unfortunately, he failed to rendezvous with any of them and, later, decided to temporarily park the car near his employer's house where he worked as a private driver.

After failing to find another buyer, Sutrisno went to see the car by himself but was promptly arrested by detectives from the Pancoran police station. (bsr)