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)