Greed proves costly for two female shoplifters

Greed proves costly for two female shoplifters

JAKARTA (JP): Two women, one of whom is an elderly housewife,
have been arrested for allegedly stealing 10 pairs of children's
pants at Plaza Tomang Tol store in Kalimalang, East Jakarta.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday
that 62-year-old Ika Sukarsih and Emmy alias Eem, 37, were caught
red-handed by a store security guard with the clothes in their
possession.

"They hid the stolen items under their skirts," Aritonang said
without explaining the relationship between the two suspects.

The women were captured by security guard Tatang Komara, who
followed them on a minibus after they left the store.

Aritonang said Tatang first received a report from one of the
store's assistants that some clothes had been stolen and then
began to look for the suspects among dozens of customers who
flocked the store that morning.

"Later he spotted these two women who acted unnaturally. The
two walked in such a strange way by bending their backs most of
the time. Tatang did not approach the two, but instead followed
them," he said.

Tatang then followed the two suspects into a KWK 37 minibus,
where the two began to remove the stolen goods from their skirts.

"Again, Tatang did nothing to the women but asked the driver
to immediately turn the vehicle into the nearby Duren Sawit
police subprecinct office," Aritonang said.

Police there confiscated six pairs of children's pants from
Emmy and four more from Ika.

The two, who were being detained at the Duren Sawit police
station, confessed there were two other women who also stole
goods from the same store, Aritonang said.

He said that police were now looking for the other two women,
whose identities they know. They are believed to have stolen at
least two pairs of jeans from the Plaza Tomang Tol store. (cst)