Masked thieves bust into home of Japanese citizen

Multa Fidrus and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Jakarta

Six masked thieves broke into the house of a Japanese national in Pondok Aren, Tangerang, early on Tuesday, injuring two people and fleeing with cash and two cellular phones.

Pondok Aren Police chief of detectives Second Insp. Eko Ari Narianto said the six thieves entered the house of Toshikomi Kubo at about 1 a.m. by climbing over the back wall.

The house employed a security guard, identified as Fadillah.

"They stole US$800, 350,000 yen and Rp 1 million. They also took two cellular phones and injured two people," Eko said.

Eko said that one the thieves slashed Fadillah with a machete across his hand. The thieves then tied the guard up.

The noise woke up Japanese national Koishumi Kubo and his nephew Hazimi, who were sleeping in the same room.

"The thieves also injured Hazami with a machete when he attempted to fight back. The thieves tied them up with Fadillah in the living room," Eko said.

Toshikomi, who works at Senayan Apartment, and his Indonesian wife, Sapina Safitri, 35, who were asleep in their bedroom, were also tied up.

Eko said other family members were able to shout for help. Their shouts were heard by a neighbor who was walking past the house.

The neighbor ran to a nearby mosque and called for help over the mosque's loudspeaker.

"The thieves were surprised by the loudspeaker and fled as neighbors came to the aid of the Japanese citizen," Eko said.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said police who arrived at the scene were unable to capture the thieves despite giving chase with help from residents.

"The two injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital. We are still trying to track down the thieves. We are confident we will arrest them soon," Tjiptono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday evening.

There have been a number of robberies targeting Japanese citizens this year, including one in Cilandak, South Jakarta. These cases are still being investigated by the police.

"We are continuing to investigate the cases. We will not give up. We want to show foreigners that Jakarta is a safe place and its police can solve robbery cases," he said.