Jeremy's case file declared complete

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A Singaporean suspected of theft, Tang Khen Seng, 32, alias Jeremy, was moved to the Jakarta prosecutor's office on Friday after his case file was declared complete.

City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said investigators had sent Jeremy to the Jakarta prosecutors's office upon receiving a letter stating that his case file was already complete.

"We finished his case file prior to his escape. We don't need to keep him here any longer. The faster he is transferred the better for us," said Tjiptono.

The head of the intelligence unit at the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Friday that his office had Jeremy in custody pending trial.

"We have him here. We are now preparing indictments against him. We hope he can be tried within a week," Farried told The Jakarta Post.

He did not say where Jeremy was detained.

Jeremy was first arrested last Dec. 7 following allegations that he had broken into lockers located in spa areas of several five-star hotels in the capital.

However, he managed to get out of police detention after allegedly bribing five guards on duty. The five have been detained for questioning.

After several days on the run, Jeremy was arrested again last Tuesday evening by local police at the Conrad Hotel in Denpasar, Bali while allegedly trying to steal guest personal belongings in the hotel's locker room.

Upon his arrival from Denpasar on Wednesday, Jeremy told several TV stations that police guards offered him a way to escape in exchange for money.

Tjiptono denied allegations that the police's move in quickly transferring Jeremy to prosecutors was aimed at shifting public attention from the alleged bribery of the five police guards.

"We continue to detain and question them. However, we haven't found any evidence to prove that they received bribes," said Tjiptono.