Police arrest four men accused of bus robbery

Police arrest four men accused of bus robbery

JAKARTA (JP): City police apprehended on Wednesday four men
believed to belong to a seven-member armed gang specializing in
extorting money from passengers on air-conditioned public buses.

Police said the arrest, made in front of Graha Patra building
on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta, was made possible due
to the efforts of a Steady Safe bus crew who alerted patrolling
officers.

According to the bus conductor, the criminals were threatening
passengers and demanding that they hand over their money and
valuables.

The bus conductor jumped from the moving vehicle and notified
five police officers, who were patrolling the Kuningan area on
motorcycles.

The officers then chased the bus.

Four men were arrested, while three of their accomplices
hurriedly disembarked one by one and boarded a passing Bianglala
bus, managing to flee the scene.

The accusation was denied by the arrested men, identified as
Ujang Dana, Saidi, Achmad Zuhdi and Iwan, all in their 30s.

"I was caught standing at a bus stop near the Graha Patra
building," Iwan, who claimed to be a shoe trader from Senen
market in Central Jakarta, said.

"I have no sharp weapons and no money. How could I rob a
passenger? I'm just a trader trying to make a living in Jakarta,"
a heavily tattooed Iwan said.

Ujang, who claimed to be a construction worker, said he did
not know the other suspects.

"I saw them when we were all standing at the bus stop and only
later did we become acquainted in the police truck and here
(police headquarters)," 33-year-old Ujang, who also sported
tattoos, said.

Saidi and Achmad Zuhdi declined to comment.

Col. Arthur Damanik, chief of the city police on-alert unit,
said his men had confiscated Rp 30,000 (US$3.40) in cash from one
of the suspects.

The money was in the form of Rp 500 bank notes, which were
tidily arranged.

"We believe that the (other) stolen goods and cash were taken
away by their fleeing accomplices," Arthur said.

The men, he said, could be charged with robbing the conductor
and passengers of the bus, which was plying the Tanah Abang-Depok
route.

At police headquarters, it was noticed that the suspects were
bleeding at the mouth after being interrogated.

Arthur said that to complete the investigation, the police
would summon the bus crew as main witnesses in the midday
incident.

"We'll not let them (suspects) repeat the same criminal acts.
We'll investigate and process the incident thoroughly to teach
them a lesson," he said. (emf)