Migrant worker robbed

JAKARTA: An Indonesian migrant worker, Gusnul, 24, reported to Tanjung Priok seaport police upon his arrival from Tanjung Pinang seaport in Bintan island, Riau, that he had been robbed by four men at Tanjung Pinang on Friday.

Gusnul, who was then recommended to report the case to Senen Police subprecinct, told police that the men stole Rp 2.4 million (US$282.35) in cash as he arrived from Malaysia where he has been working on an oil palm plantation for two years.

The four men, he said, mugged him and forced him to enter a black sedan. He was later taken to a house where three other people, one of them a woman, were also being held.

"The woman told me to cry if I wanted to get out," he said.

So he cried and after four hours he was finally released and given a ticket by his captors on the Samudra Jaya ship heading for Jakarta.

Gusnul was then given a recommendation letter by police to enable him to return home to Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara free of charge. It was not clear if the police planned to investigate the robbery gang on Bintan.

"Luckily I had sent most of my money beforehand," Gusnul said. -- JP