Five people arrested Rp 408m vehicle tax scam

JAKARTA (JP): Five people have been arrested in a vehicle tax scam worth over Rp 408 million (US$160,000) at a major car rental company in Jakarta, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday.

Aritonang said the five cheated PT Golden Bird by embezzling vehicle taxes and counterfeiting documents of 34 luxury cars owned by the company.

"One of the five arrested people, identified as RHS, 50, is the head of the claims division at PT Blue Bird, the parent company of Golden Bird," Aritonang said.

The other four were identified as MS, 49; N, 34; TS, 42; and MH, 34.

They had been involved in the scam since 1993, Aritonang said.

Aritonang said RHS received the largest share of the swindled money amounting to 50 percent. MH, who forfeited car documents, got 20 percent, while the remaining three people received 10 percent each.

He said the three people helped RHS register Golden Bird's new cars at the police station.

They handled 34 cars, including 17 Volvos, 15 Mercedes Benz, and 2 Mitsubishi Eternas. Some of the 34 cars were confiscated by City Police as evidence in the case,

"In the operation, the five people only registered the cars, but did not pay any of the vehicle taxes worth between Rp 12 million and Rp 13 million per car," Aritonang said.

"To convince the company that all cars were legally registered with the police, MS provided bogus vehicle documents and tax receipts," he said.

Police also seized six counterfeit car ownership documents, 11 bogus car registration documents, and 10 tickets from various fines, Aritonang said.

He said the scam was uncovered after police found, during a routine raid, that documents of several Golden Bird cars were fake.

He said the five were arrested separately with RHS being the first at a hideout in Pasar Manggis, South Jakarta, July 16, followed by MS while he was jogging in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

The only female in the group, N, was arrested on July 17 in Ciracas, East Jakarta, while TS was arrested the next day at his home in Tomang, West Jakarta, and MH on July 22 at an office on Jl. Buncit Raya, South Jakarta.

All of them were being held at City Police Headquarters' detention house for further investigation, Aritonang said. (07/cst)