JP/3/Kopaja

JP/3/Kopaja

Three 'gang of eight' members busted for Kopaja heist

JAKARTA (JP): Police yesterday arrested three of the eight persons suspected of stealing 64 grams of gold jewelry and Rp 500,000 cash from passengers on board a Kopaja minibus Tuesday morning.

The three were identified as Gister Simangunsong, 27, Tohar Simandjuntak, 21, and John Maruli Damanik, 22.

"The other five suspects remain at large but their names and aliases are already widely known," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. A. Latief Rabar said.

The three suspected gang members were apprehended at different locations in the Ciracas area, East Jakarta, between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. yesterday.

"None of them had a permanent home," Latief related.

One of the thugs was arrested at a Lapo Tuak (traditional Batak fermented drink) stall in Ciracas.

Based on preliminary findings, the gang of eight and a dozen passengers boarded a T 502 Kopaja bus at Kampung Rambutan terminal in East Jakarta at around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, which was the Hindu Day of Silence.

The bus' destination was the Tanah Abang terminal in Central Jakarta, but subsequent events would turn this routine trip into a costly nightmare for the unsuspecting passengers.

Several minutes after the bus left the Jagorawi tollroad, a gang member stood and signaled his fellow hoodlums to commence the operation.

They then readied their arsenal of machetes and sickles before pointing them at the bus driver and passengers.

"One of the creeps placed his sickle on my neck and forced me to keep driving," recalled Parman, 20, the minibus driver.

After relieving the passengers of their money and valuables, the group then dispersed along Jl. Matraman Raya in East Jakarta.

According to Parman, one of the passengers was wounded by the robbers while attempting to protect his property, but could not be identified by police because he fled the scene before the bus arrived at the nearby Menteng police subprecinct.

"We're now checking whether this gang has carried out similar operations in the past," Latief explained. (bsr)