Job-seeker cheated, beaten

TANGERANG: Police arrested on Tuesday a middleman for allegedly cheating a job applicant by offering him a job in Germany if he could pay a fee of US$3,000.

The suspect, identified as Albert Gunawan, 35, was arrested after he and his friends physically assaulted the applicant, Edi Irianto, a resident of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, as well as his relatives who were with him. All of the victims sustained minor injuries but have not been hospitalized.

The 23-year-old Edi contacted Albert after he read an advertisement about the job which was placed by Albert in a newspaper in Pontianak.

The victim, accompanied by his two uncles, met Albert in Jakarta on July 4 and planned to hand over $3,000 to the suspect.

But Edi withheld the payment after he became suspicious about the authenticity of the German visa presented by Albert.

Strongly suspecting that the visa was a fake, he then demanded that Albert reimburse him the Rp 10 million for travel costs from Pontianak to Jakarta.

Albert then took Edi and his uncles to his house in Karang Anyar subdistrict, Tangerang, where the suspect and his friends mobbed the victim and his uncles.

Tangerang Police detectives chief Adj. Comr. Kustanto, Albert admitted his crimes and is currently under interrogation. -- JP