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)