Megawati's son robbed near house

Megawati's son robbed near house

JAKARTA (JP): A son of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was robbed on a street near his
family house in South Jakarta by a group of four armed men riding
on two motorcycles on early Monday.

Muhamad Prananda Prabowo, 28, the second of Megawati's three
children, was left uninjured but the gun-toting robbers made off
with his Kijang minivan of the latest model, a cellular phone and
Rp 16,000 in cash.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis strongly believed
that the gun used by the bandits was only a toy. He however gave
no grounds for his hypothesis.

Prananda was quoted by the officer as saying that he was
driving alone at about 2:30 a.m. on that quiet morning on Jl.
Raya Warung Buncit when he noticed the four men following him.

It is unclear what Prananda was doing out at that time.

"After reaching nearby Jl. T.B. Simatupang, he made a left
turn which was then used by the suspected robbers to block his
way," Zainuri said.

Prananda, he said, was just about to query the four men when
two of the bandits quickly jumped into his green Kijang as one of
them pointed his gun at him.

Once inside the car, the crooks then demanded that Prananda
drive his vehicle to the nearby entrance gate of the Pondok
Pinang toll road that links all areas in the capital, Bogor and
Cikampek to towns in other part of Java.

Shortly after entering the toll road, one of the men forced
Prananda to get out of the car before it sped off in the Bogor
direction, officer Zainuri said.

Police have so far said that the robbery was merely an
ordinary crime although it took place not far away from
Megawati's house on Jl. Kebagusan.

The city has recorded a growing number of vehicle robberies
using similar methods against lonely drivers on board Kijang
vans.

Last Monday, two Kijang vans were also robbed and the drivers
dumped on a toll road.

Most of the victims were blocked at quiet places to enable the
armed thieves to enter the cars and overpower the drivers. (emf)