Kidnapping attempt foiled

Your reporting on the abduction which took place at my Jakarta resident on Dec. 13, 1994 was pretty correct. Nevertheless, I have to comment as follows.

I was positively at home, and the kidnapping took place right before my own and my children's eyes.

Recognizing the Australian body guard, Mike Martino, who was already involved in a first abduction attempt accompanied by burglary and bribery in September in Bali, I understood immediately what was going on and ran outside for help.

Upon my shouting Maling, Maling (thief, thief), the whole kampong streamed together and tried to stop the abductors. They managed to escape only with the help of tear gas guns. Several people, including myself, got hurt in this violent attack but one of the kidnappers had lost his wallet.

The events took place at 5.30 p.m., just before Mahgrib prayers in our nearby mosque. At 6.15 p.m., together with a neighbor, Pak Basri from Depnaker, I reported the incident to Capt Pairin and Sergeant Tatang at Polda (regional police office). Polda reacted extremely quickly and efficiently, immediately alerting the police surveillance machinery at the airport.

A second report was made at 7.00 p.m. to Lt. P. Golose from Polda's Murder and Kidnap Squad. He immediately organized a search team. Before this report was entirely typed out, the police had already located the Indonesian accomplice who had dropped his wallet.

One hour after returning home, I got a phone call from Pak Golose's staff, requesting me to return to Polda. Malcolm Adam, the boys' father who had just arrived from Bali, and myself, were not a little surprised to find out that the whole kidnap-gang had been arrested, and that the kids were back and safe.

From start to finish, it had taken less than four hours to arrest the kidnappers.

I don't want to dig into the reasons of this incident. The background is a tragic family drama, and the Indonesian courts will have to judge its outcome.

But without the spontaneous solidarity of the neighborhood of Cawang Kavling and without the efficiency of the Indonesian police, the kidnapping would have succeeded. It would never have been possible to bring the kidnappers to court.

ANDRE IDRIS GEERTS

Jakarta