Man gets 6 months for kidnapping

BOGOR (JP): The Bogor District Court sentenced Okta Yudistira alias Sarifudin, 20, on Tuesday to six months in jail for involvement in kidnapping two South Korean citizens and holding them hostage in his rented house in Cinoro.

Presiding judge Sri Koestati said in her verdict that the defendant was found guilty of threatening at knife point the two victims, identified as Park Jeung Hoon and his friend Lee Hyun, to make them disclose the personal identification numbers of their credit cards.

"Because the victims were afraid, they finally gave the numbers to them," she said.

The two expatriates were abducted by a group of five -- Okta's brother Safuan, Ediranto, Win, Nurida and Sarmadi -- after taking a taxi in Sunter, North Jakarta, in the wee hours of July 30 this year.

"The taxi was forcefully stopped by the robber gang," Koestati said, adding that the gang later seized the victims' belongings, including Rp 300,000 (US$40), passports, a 10-gram gold ring, shoes and credit cards.

The victims, however, managed to run away when the defendant, who was assigned guard them, fell asleep, she said. The other five are still at large.

Koestati said the defendant's act violated Article 365 of the Criminal Code on theft with violence. (24/hhr)