German national robbed

JAKARTA (JP): Twelve men armed with sickles and swords broke into the residence of a German national early on Friday morning and robbed him of hundreds of millions of rupiah worth of gold jewelry and cash.

The police identified the victim as Eugene Kramb, 60, whose ear and hand were struck with a sickle, during the robbery at his residence at Jl. Kemang Selatan 12E, Cilandak, South Jakarta.

The incident occurred at 2 a.m. on Friday.

The robbers broke through a window of the victim's house and entered his bedroom. Eugene, who was asleep, was startled by the sounds and woke up.

"He tried to fight the robbers, but the men immediately struck Eugene's ear and thumb with a sickle," South Jakarta police detective First Lt. Ami Prindani told reporters on Friday.

He added that Eugene reportedly worked in the technical division of the Mercedes Benz car company.

While the two robbers held Eugene down, Ami said, the 10 other men robbed Eugene of a safebox reportedly containing 20 luxury watches, Rp 68 million in cash, US$500 and DM100 in cash, a television set, a cellphone and gold jewelry, in total worth hundreds of millions of rupiah.

The police questioned Eugene's gardener and maid, who claimed that, during the entire incident, they heard nothing and therefore slept soundly. (ylt)