Man arrested over series of bank customer robberies
Man arrested over series of bank customer robberies
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta Police have arrested a
member of a gang that specialized in robbing bank customers in
the city.
Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang told
journalists at his office on Tuesday that the suspect, identified
as Mat Nyong, 39, was apprehended on Monday morning at his home
in Ciampea, Bogor, West Java.
"In his statement given during interrogation, Mat Nyong
admitted to having robbed five bank customers since 1995,"
Salempang said.
According to Salempang, the gang comprised six members who
used either guns or machetes during their attacks. One member was
shot dead in 1999 and another one was arrested last month.
He said the police were still hunting three other members of
the gang: Rudi, who always carried an FN pistol, Adi, who always
carried a colt pistol, and Nurdin, who was always armed with a
machete.
Salempang said the gang committed the robberies using four
motor bikes, two Yamaha RX Kings, and two Honda Bebeks.
Mat Nyong admitted to the police that he was always assigned
to ride a motor bike while the others studied the bank's location
and prospective victims.
In 1995 during the first robbery he participated in, Mat Nyong
and three other members of the gang managed to steal Rp 100
million from a bank customer near the Kebun Jeruk toll road in
West Jakarta. Mat Nyong said he received Rp 20 million as his
share.
In 1999, they stole Rp 60 million from a bank customer in
front of the Ramayana Department Store in Tanah Abang, Central
Jakarta.
Mat Nyong said they tried to commit another robbery on Jl.
Veteran, Central Jakarta, in the same year, but the attempt went
badly wrong. One of Mat Nyong's accomplices, Somat, was shot dead
by a military police officer who was escorting the bank customer.
This year, Mat Nyong, together with Adi, Rudi and Ashari,
robbed a bank customer in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta and escaped
with Rp 66 million. One member of the gang, Ashari, was arrested
in West Jakarta last month.
Mat Nyong, who claimed to have three children and three wives,
said he always squandered the money he got from the robberies on
living it up. (01)