House robbed after owners receive warning

JAKARTA (JP): A group of five men armed with sharp weapons broke into a house at Jati Padang, South Jakarta, Saturday morning, taking the family's Kijang van and several electronic goods, police said over the weekend.

No fatalities were reported but a member of the family got his arm slashed with a machete by one of the robbers, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said.

The owner of the house, Achmad, 45, told police that three hours before the 6 a.m. robbery, he received an anonymous phone call from a man saying that he and his accomplices were going to rob the house.

"I thought it was too early in the morning to call the police that's why I just went back to bed," entrepreneur Achmad said.

According to his driver, Hamzah, he was trying to stop the robbers when he saw they left the house with the vehicle.

"But they pointed a weapon, maybe a gun, at me. It was dark and I was scared," Hamzah recalled.

Saturday's robbery at Jati Padang is one of a series of armed robberies that have occurred in the capital within three days, causing losses amounting to hundreds of millions of rupiah.

The previous day, a group of 12 robbers armed with guns and machetes struck a residential house in the Bumi Serpong Damai complex, Tangerang.

At about 5 a.m., they robbed Dento Prakosa Pranoto, 29, and threatened the whole family with their weapons.

The robbers left the scene with Rp 700,000 in cash, 100 grams of gold, two cellular phones and a car radio/cassette player, which all amounted to Rp 41 million.

The robbers made an easy escape in a sedan. The robbery is being handled by Tangerang Police, Aritonang said.

On Thursday afternoon, six armed men grabbed Rp 100 million from three Bank Yama employees at Metro Sunter, North Jakarta.

"The employees had just taken the money from Bank BNI, when suddenly, three men threatened them with guns," Aritonang said.

The robbers made their escaped on three RX King motorbikes and fired into the air to make their way out from the crowds.

The case is being handled by Tanjung Priok Police.

"We urge residents to be careful and to watch out for any possible criminal acts. If you have to carry a great deal of money, asked for a security escort. The police will give the service free of charge," Aritonang said. (edt)