Mother of four arrested for theft at minimarket

Jakarta — A 22-year-old woman identified as IPS, a mother of four children, was arrested for attempting to steal money from a minimarket in the Gang Songsai area, Tanah Sereal, Tambora, West Jakarta, to meet her family’s needs.

The woman was caught red-handed by minimarket staff whilst committing the theft on Tuesday 10 March at approximately 20:00 Western Indonesian Time and was immediately reported to Tambora Police Precinct.

“Upon receiving the report, our team moved quickly and successfully secured the suspect without any resistance,” said AKP Sudrajat Djumantara, Head of Criminal Investigation Unit at Tambora Police Precinct, in a statement to the press in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.

Following interrogation, the suspect confessed to committing five theft offences across North Jakarta and West Jakarta regions. However, only two of these incidents were discovered.

The suspect had previously been arrested by Pademangan Police Precinct after stealing 4.6 million rupiahs from a minimarket in that area. That case was resolved through a restorative justice approach.

This time, the suspect struck again in the Tambora area, stealing a total of 2.6 million rupiahs. Three other alleged theft offences remain undetected.

“The suspect’s motive this time was economic. She admitted needing money for basic necessities,” said Sudrajat.

The suspect IPS faces charges under Article 476 of the Indonesian Criminal Code concerning aggravated theft, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.