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)