Foreign con men

Foreign con men

From Kompas

The following experience of mine may be useful for other women to ward off hoaxes by foreigners.

On the afternoon of Jan.9, 1996, I was waiting for public transport on Jl. Warung Buncit, South Jakarta in front of Madrasah Fatahillah.

Suddenly, a well-dressed man materialized on my right side. He asked me in Malay what direction to take to go to Glodok in downtown Jakarta. He told me he had been dropped off by a taxi on Warung Buncit against a payment of Rp 100,000.

When I was explaining to him how to proceed to his destination, I remembered the case of a friend who had been hoaxed by people saying they came from Malaysia and Brunei. She parted with Rp 8,000,000.

The situation became rather critical when two other well- dressed men surrounded me. I hurriedly left the place. At some distance I glanced back.

The three men got into a black BMW, not a taxi. So, I escaped from whatever the threesome had in store for me.

I would advise people, especially women, to be watchful when they are waiting for transport on quiet stretches of a street. It is interesting that my friend met her con men on Jl. Warung Buncit also.

Y. WIDYASTUTI

Jakarta