Police probe burglary at Akbar's house

Police probe burglary at Akbar's house

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police detectives are questioning four
men in connection with Saturday morning's alleged theft of a bag
containing important documents, checkbooks and Rp 2 million
(US$285) in cash from the residence of House of Representatives
(DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

City police chief of violence and crime unit Maj. Dharma
Pongrekun identified the four as security guard Sugiran, Akbar's
driver Asep, servant Tarno and former servant Nirman.

"We have asked where each of the four men were during the time
the loss of the bag was noticed (4:30 a.m. on Saturday) and at
other times on Friday, leading up to the alleged theft on
Saturday. Each has told us where they were...," Dharma told
reporters.

"The only one who does not seem to be where he told us he was
is Nirman. I cannot say more. The police are getting a lot of
heat over this case ... and we are still busy trying to prove
whether this was a theft at all."

A burglary was reported early on Saturday morning from the
study in Akbar's house, on Jl. Widya Chandra in the ministerial
housing complex of Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

There was no sign of forced entry to the study, a police
source said.

The source said Akbar, who is also the Golkar Party chairman,
was actually packing to leave for Medan, North Sumatra, for a
party meeting.

"He was also going to visit his parents' graveyard in South
Tapanuli," the source said.

Sugiran told reporters that while packing his bags, Akbar
realized that a bag was missing.

"He got really angry and asked everybody in the house to look
for it," Sugiran said.

"The bag is usually kept in the study, so that it does not get
lost in the midst of all the packing ... and so it can easily be
picked up when our boss leaves the house."

As the bag could still not be found, Akbar left without it for
the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to catch a 6 a.m.
flight, Sugiran said.

On the questioning of the four men, the police source said
that they had very little to go on, other than the fact that
Nirman was not in the place he said he was.

"Nirman was actually sacked a month ago ... but he still
freely entered and left Akbar's house. Still, we can't make him a
suspect because of that," the source said.

"If this was a burglary at all, then we are dealing with a
very slick one."

The alleged theft at Akbar's residence has sparked anger from
several House members.

Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, the chairman of House Commission I
for defense, foreign and political affairs, said on Saturday the
incident reflected badly on the National Police, who had recently
vowed to tighten security around legislators following the recent
attempted murder of Matori Abdul Djalil, the deputy speaker of
the People's Consultative Assembly and the two unsolved shootings
at the House complex.

Legislator Faisal Baasir blamed the theft on the police
officers assigned to safeguard lawmakers' residences.

"I want all the police officers, including their superiors,
who were assigned to secure the complex, to be replaced as soon
as possible," he told a local television station on Saturday.
(ylt)