Kidnapped boy found at friend's house in Bandung

Kidnapped boy found at friend's house in Bandung

TANGERANG (JP): A mother of an eight-year-old boy, who was
kidnapped in Jatiuwung district Friday, has found her son along
with the suspected kidnapper in Bandung, West Java.

Titi, 29, said Saturday that the suspect, identified as Ipung,
was a friend of her husband, Leonardi, 35. Her son Riki
Firmansyah had not returned home on Thursday evening after he
left home to go the nearby mosque.

"Ipung told me that he kidnapped my son to make my husband to
him to solve their business problem, which I don't know about,"
the housewife told The Jakarta Post at the Perumnas I housing
complex in the Cibodas Sari sub-district.

According to Titi, her husband, a retail supplier, delivers
merchandise to several agents in various towns in Java.

Titi said Loenardi has left his family 10 days ago, so she had
to make the report to police herself, not with her husband as
earlier reported.

"As of today, I have no idea what the problem between Ipung
and my husband is," she said, adding Leonardi has not sent her
news though she repeatedly called his pager.

"Thank God, Ipung, who I've known for years, just let me and
my son go after I found him hiding my son at his uncle's house in
Bandung last night," said Titi, who planned to report to the
police.

Minutes after she concluded her son missing, Titi reported to
the local police and the subdistrict head. She informed her
husband through his beeper.

At around 11:30 a.m. Friday, Titi received a message at her
beeper, saying that Riki was with the unidentified caller in
Bandung.

The caller said that he would take Riki to Palembang in South
Sumatra unless a ransom was submitted. Titi said earlier no
amount of ransom was mentioned, but later said she was told the
demand was Rp 30 million in cash.

The kidnapper asked to be contacted at a phone number and to
have the money sent to Jl. Cihampelas 24.

At 1 p.m., Titi left for Bandung accompanied by one of her
neighbors by bus.

"I didn't have any money to meet the kidnapper's request," she
said, adding she only brought enough money for the trip.

The two arrived in the West Java capital of Bandung at around
5 p.m. only to learn that the phone number belonged to a
telecommunication shop. The address on the street, famed for its
many garment stores, was an old abandoned building.

"Suddenly, Ipung's name came across my mind and my feeling
said that he was the kidnapper," she said. "I didn't know why,"
she added, only saying she knew Ipung, her husband's
acquaintance, lived in Bandung.

Titi and her neighbor then found Ipung at his relative's house
while Riki was playing around.

"I was so mad with Ipung after knowing that he kidnapped my
son but still he refused to explain his motive," Titi said.

As of Saturday the Tangerang police said they did not know the
boy and the suspect had been found.

"I'll check out the information immediately," Tangerang Police
Chief Lt. Col. Djoko Satrio said over the weekend.

According to him, Ipung, if Titi's story was true, could be
charged for kidnapping. (28/bsr)