Man nabbed over theft of train signal cables
Man nabbed over theft of train signal cables
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of train passengers, mostly commuters,
were stranded for hours on Monday after three men cut and stole
signal transmission cables spanning between the Gondangdia
railway station and the Cikini railway station.
Police managed to capture one of the thieves, identified as
Decruise, 27, while his two partners remain at large. The suspect
is being detained at the Central Jakarta Police for questioning.
The absence of the cables kept train signal on red, preventing
at least 75 electric and intercity trains from moving.
The cables, which were planted in an underground concrete
case, were stolen from three locations between the two stations,
which are less than two kilometers apart, but spokesman for the
state railway company PT KAI Zainal Abidin said the effect was
far more extensive.
"The cutting of the transmission cables caused havoc for four
hours. At least 5 kilometers of railway tracks were lined with
trains back-to-back, between the Manggarai railway station and
the Tanjung Barat railway station, which covers about 15 km. Some
75 trains were stuck that way," Zainal told The Jakarta Post.
He added that the value of the cables in terms of money was
only Rp 15 million, but their absence caused PT KAI staffers "a
lot of headache."
"All the tracks in the Manggarai railway station were jam-
packed with trains ... the havoc began at 4 a.m. when the
incident happened, and ended at 10 a.m., when we managed to fix
temporary signal cables in place of the stolen parts."
He added that the signal box was also damaged.
Yoyol confirmed that Decruise and his gang cut the cables at
about 4 a.m. on Monday, and sold them off.
"But there are many possibilities (for the motive). We are
still investigating the case," Yoyol told reporters at Central
Jakarta Police.
"This man is not a city resident ... he says he keeps moving
from one place to another. He does not have any ID card either."
Zainal smelled sabotage in the incident.
"PT KAI sees this incident as a possible act of sabotage ...
what else could it be? We have conveyed our suspicions to police
officers and they are investigating the possibility," Zainal
said.
Aside from Monday's incident, the railway company still has
two unresolved incidents: the planting of three live grenades on
railroad tracks in Lemah Abang, Bekasi early in January, and the
bombing of a railway bridge over Cisedane river in Serpong,
Banten last month.
No fatalities were resulted in the two incidents.
Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication Agum Gumelar
said after the bombing in Serpong that security measures would be
stepped up along railway tracks. (ylt)
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of train passengers, mostly commuters,
were stranded for hours on Monday after three men cut and stole
signal transmission cables spanning between the Gondangdia
railway station and the Cikini railway station.
Police managed to capture one of the thieves, identified as
Decruise, 27, while his two partners remain at large. The suspect
is being detained at the Central Jakarta Police for questioning.
The absence of the cables kept train signal on red, preventing
at least 75 electric and intercity trains from moving.
The cables, which were planted in an underground concrete
case, were stolen from three locations between the two stations,
which are less than two kilometers apart, but spokesman for the
state railway company PT KAI Zainal Abidin said the effect was
far more extensive.
"The cutting of the transmission cables caused havoc for four
hours. At least 5 kilometers of railway tracks were lined with
trains back-to-back, between the Manggarai railway station and
the Tanjung Barat railway station, which covers about 15 km. Some
75 trains were stuck that way," Zainal told The Jakarta Post.
He added that the value of the cables in terms of money was
only Rp 15 million, but their absence caused PT KAI staffers "a
lot of headache."
"All the tracks in the Manggarai railway station were jam-
packed with trains ... the havoc began at 4 a.m. when the
incident happened, and ended at 10 a.m., when we managed to fix
temporary signal cables in place of the stolen parts."
He added that the signal box was also damaged.
Yoyol confirmed that Decruise and his gang cut the cables at
about 4 a.m. on Monday, and sold them off.
"But there are many possibilities (for the motive). We are
still investigating the case," Yoyol told reporters at Central
Jakarta Police.
"This man is not a city resident ... he says he keeps moving
from one place to another. He does not have any ID card either."
Zainal smelled sabotage in the incident.
"PT KAI sees this incident as a possible act of sabotage ...
what else could it be? We have conveyed our suspicions to police
officers and they are investigating the possibility," Zainal
said.
Aside from Monday's incident, the railway company still has
two unresolved incidents: the planting of three live grenades on
railroad tracks in Lemah Abang, Bekasi early in January, and the
bombing of a railway bridge over Cisedane river in Serpong,
Banten last month.
No fatalities were resulted in the two incidents.
Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication Agum Gumelar
said after the bombing in Serpong that security measures would be
stepped up along railway tracks. (ylt)