Man nabbed for robbing Hyatt guest

JAKARTA (JP): A man was arrested by security guards at the five-star Grand Hyatt hotel in Central Jakarta Wednesday after breaking into a room and threatening the guest with a fake gun, police said yesterday.

The suspect, identified as Chaleb Hartono, 30, had forced the victim, a British woman, to hand over her money and jewelry, City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said.

The panicking victim, identified as Emma Alexandra, screamed for help shortly after Chaleb left the room, the officer said.

Aritonang said the hotel security guards chased the suspect and caught him with the stolen goods, including a Sharp laptop computer, a diamond ring, a credit card and Rp 187,000 (US$61.13) in cash.

"The suspect confessed during interrogation that he had committed similar crimes at the hotel three times before getting caught," he said.

He always targeted foreign woman who traveled and stayed alone at the hotel.

"The suspect, who always dressed smartly, watched the victims closely, followed them to their rooms and forced his way into the rooms. He always carried the fake handgun to scare his victims," Aritonang said.

He said the suspect had made off with a total of Rp 1.3 million from the latest three robberies he had committed at the hotel in August.

Aritonang said that criminals who operated in hotels usually dressed and acted like businessmen.

"Hotel guests should not rely only on the security guards to watch them and their belongings. They must take good care of their stuff, especially in public area of hotels because we cannot tell criminals by their looks," he said. (cst)