Four armed men rob employee of Rp 100 million

JAKARTA (JP): A tax office employee from the Ministry of Finance was robbed of Rp 100 million (US$42,918) by four men in his garage in Jl. Haji Maun, Duren Tiga District, South Jakarta.

Jakarta Police Spokesman Maj. Nyoman Suriasta said Pekik Dono Pertolo, 31, had just withdrawn the money from Bank BDN's MT Haryono branch on Thursday, when the robbers threatened him with a gun and a machete.

"The suspects broke the car's front windshield, asking the victim to show them where the money was. They then stole the money from the trunk and escaped on two motorcycles," Nyoman said.

He said the suspects were still at large.

Pekik told police he did not know he was followed after withdrawing the money.

When Pekik's car reached the garage, four men suddenly approached him demanding money.

This was the third armed robbery of bank customers in the past two weeks in Jakarta.

On Oct. 11, a private company employee Zaenuddin Lesmana was shot dead by one of three robbers who made off with Rp 350 million on the Jagorawi toll road.

Two days later, two men, one armed with a gun, robbed a private employee of Rp 33 million in Jl. Cilandak, South Jakarta. The robbers are still at large.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso expressed concern over recent armed robberies.

"I call on people to help security officers identify people with illegal weapons," Sutiyoso said.

He said armed bandits usually told their friends they owned a gun. "So please tell us if you have information about it. We will keep it secret," he added.

Over the past two months, at least five robberies of bank customers have occurred in and around the city. None of the robbers have been caught. (jun)