Man hijacks a bus, robs passengers

BOGOR (JP): An unidentified armed man hijacked a bus plying the Jakarta-Bandung route in the wee hours on Thursday and robbed the passengers of their valuables, before escaping at a rest area in Sentul, Bogor.

The Harum Sari bus, loaded with 41 people, had just left the Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta and was its way to Bandung on the Jagorawi toll road when the incident took place.

When the bus was passing station the toll road, a tall man sitting on the back seat made his way to the front of the bus and ordered the bus driver to stop.

"He suddenly pulled out a long rifle and fired at the bus's windscreen. He threatened us and told us all to hand over our wallets," a witness said.

The sleepy travelers were startled and gave him their wallets. The man got away with a total of Rp 3.8 million in cash and dozens of identity cards, driving licenses and automatic teller machine (ATM) cards.

The man then ordered the driver to drop him off at a rest area in Sentul and fired at the rear left tire of the bus, but only hit the metal rim.

"He then ordered the bus to go away," said a police officer who asked not to be named.

Police found a 7.26mm caliber cartridge on the bus, which they believed to have been fired from a rifle.

"This is the second bus robbery in Bogor. The first incident occurred on Dec. 6 in the Gunung Putri area, also on Jagorawi toll road," the officer said.

The modus operandi used in the previous robbery was similar, he said.

"The culprit pretended to be a traveler, hijacked the bus and opened fire," the officer added. (21/edt)