Japanese man stabbed to death, taxi driver sought
Japanese man stabbed to death, taxi driver sought
JAKARTA (JP): A Japanese man was stabbed to death and his
compatriot wounded when the taxi they were in was robbed in the
Cinangka subdistrict of Sawangan in West Java early yesterday.
City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang identified the
dead man as Yamamoto, 32, and his injured companion as Okada, 49.
Both were employees of a joint venture company, PT Tusunaka
Plastic Indonesia, in Bekasi, West Java.
"Preliminary investigations have shown that the two were
victims of an armed robbery allegedly committed by the taxi
driver and an accomplice."
He said Yamamoto was the first foreigner to die as a result of
criminal offenses this year. At least three foreigners died
violently last year, according to existing data.
Yamamoto died at the scene from severe stab wounds to the
chest and neck. Okada suffered minor injuries to the palms of his
hands.
Aritonang said the two men were robbed on their way home after
visiting a karaoke pub in Blok M, South Jakarta.
The robbers made off with Rp 3 million in the form of cash and
a gold ring, he said.
The spokesman said the taxi driver allegedly picked up another
passenger on the way to Kemang in South Jakarta.
He said the two expatriates were allegedly drunk because the
survivor could remember little about the incident.
"Okada, for instance, could not remember clearly what type of
taxi he got in, where the taxi driver took him or where the other
passenger got into the car.
"We should wait for the result of the postmortem examination
on Yamamoto in regard to the (drunkenness) allegation."
He said Okada could only remember that the taxi was
predominantly blue in color.
"But there are lots of taxis which are painted blue."
Aritonang said the taxi driver must have deliberately taken
the men via Kemang instead of heading straight to their
destination in Tebet, South Jakarta.
"The suspect then picked up his accomplice somewhere."
The head of information and culture at the Japanese Embassy,
Noboru Nomura, confirmed yesterday that the two victims were
Japanese citizens.
"Information we have collected from the company shows that
both Yamamoto and Okada have worked at the company since July
last year," he told The Jakarta Post.
Nomura refused to elaborate on the men's position or status in
the company or whether they had registered themselves upon
arrival in the country.
He also refused to comment on police's suspicions that the men
were drunk at the time of incident.
But he said Okada had undergone questioning as a witness in
the case at Depok Police precinct and was scheduled to leave for
Japan last night.
"He was only slightly injured. Besides, he had made plans to
return (to Japan) long before the incident took place."
Nomura said his office was still waiting for information from
Yamamoto's family in Japan before it made any funeral
arrangements.
"Yamamoto was actually planning to go back to Japan next
month."
Yamamoto's body is being kept at Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital in Central Jakarta after a postmortem examination was
conducted yesterday morning.
Most of his colleagues and friends, who came to identify his
body at Cipto's morgue yesterday, declined to comment about the
incident.
"This is a very personal matter and it's not supposed to be
exposed," one of them said.
The hospital's forensic doctor, Mun'im Idries, said both
Yamamoto and Okada may have been under the influence of alcohol
when they got into the taxi.
"But I can't give any figures about how much they probably had
to drink," he said.
Depok Police chief Lt. Col. Fajar Prihantoro said officers
were searching for the suspects.
"We've got some leads about the suspects. My men are now
looking for the taxi which is believed to have been used to
transport the victims," he said.
Fajar declined to identify the taxi company or the names of
the suspects.
"We hope they can be caught soon," was all he would say.
(04/cst)