'Hijackers' of passenger ship set free in Ujungpandang
'Hijackers' of passenger ship set free in Ujungpandang
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): A group of hijackers were
let off lightly, following their hijacking of the Bukit Siguntang
passenger ship on Wednesday morning.
The incident occurred when the ship, which was carrying 900
passengers, left Ambon's Yos Sudarso Harbor for Ujungpandang.
The hijackers, believed to number over 100 people, began their
takeover about 30 minutes after the ship left the harbor.
They forced their way to the bridge and held the ship's
captain, FA Harahap, hostage.
Following the at times perplexing orders of the hijackers, the
ship turned back twice -- once near Ambon and once near Bau-bau
Harbor in Buton -- but subsequently resumed its course.
Security officers on board were unable to defend the ship
against the hijacker's substantial presence.
A ship security officer on board, who requested anonymity,
said the hijackers controlled the bridge for most of the trip,
and threatened to burn the ship if they encountered resistance.
The hijackers spent most of their time on board the vessel
checking the passengers' identity documents. They also ransacked
the belongings of several travelers.
Most of the travelers were refugees fleeing the ethnic and
religious strife which has hit Ambon this year.
Despite the seriousness of the incident, once the ship berthed
in Ujungpandang, the hijackers were not detained.
PT Pelni's head of operations in Ujungpandang, Agus Harry P.,
confirmed the incident. He said a group of people involved in the
ethnic clashes in Ambon hijacked the ship for several hours.
"Yes it was a bit like a hijacking, because apart from looting
passengers' belongings they also took control of the ship," he
told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.
Agus acknowledged that authorities released the hijackers,
saying they wished to prevent an "unwanted incident" from
occurring.
"When we received information about the incident we
immediately contacted the police and TNI (the Indonesian
Military). However, after some deliberations we decided to just
let them go," he said.
Spiraling violence in the area has led state-owned PT Pelni to
consider the temporary suspension of all services to and from
Ambon, Maluku.
Agus claimed that there were three to six suspicious deaths of
passengers taking the Ambon-Ujungpandang route each time the ship
set sail.
He added that the owners of the Bukit Siguntang vessel had
submitted a request to suspend their operations. Another ship,
Lambelu, stopped plying the route last month. (27/02)