Plan to deploy undercover police hailed

JAKARTA (JP): A number of bus drivers and passengers fully supported yesterday a plan to deploy undercover police officers in an effort to reduce robberies on city buses.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira said on Tuesday that his office planned to assign undercover police officers following some robberies on buses in Central Jakarta.

"I fully support the plan, because I believe it will help deter criminals from operating on buses," Yanto, a driver of a regular bus plying the Senen-Tanjung Priok route, told The Jakarta Post.

He said that he once saw one of his passengers being robbed. He didn't have the courage to help the passenger, however, because the three robbers were armed with knives.

He and other passengers just stared at the robbers while they escaped.

A housewife was of the opinion that robberies on city buses were on the rise.

"The robbers sometimes stabbed the victims or other passengers who tried to help," Yuni, a resident of Jl. Kramat Lontar in Central Jakarta, said at the Senen bus terminal.

Another driver suggested that the plan should be applied on a regular basis, and not just for a short time.

"If it is only done sporadically for just a week or a month, it will not serve its purpose. It must be done every day," Tarigan, a driver of a Metromini bus, said at the Manggarai bus terminal in South Jakarta.

Central Jakarta Police arrested six men for robbing bus passengers on Monday night.

Two men -- Ayut and Andi Irnanto -- were apprehended for stealing jewelry worth Rp 1.25 million (US$531) from a passenger on a bus on Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta.

The other four -- Palma Oloan Siregar, Oki, Helmi Firdaus and Dody Palosi -- were arrested for stealing a wallet containing Rp 47,000 from a passenger in Pasar Baru, also in Central Jakarta.

Abubakar said that during both robberies, the other passengers were afraid to help, even if the victims screamed for help. (jun)