Presidential seal counterfeited

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta Police have apprehended four members of a syndicate believed to have illegally produced and traded watches and souvenirs bearing the Presidential Palace seal.

Chief of the police precinct, Lt. Col. Abubakar Nataprawira, said yesterday that the four were arrested at Hotel Indonesia, Jl. MH Thamrin on June 26.

"The belated release of this news is mainly due to the ongoing investigation about the possible arrest of other gang members," Abubakar said.

According to Abubakar, the Central Jakarta detectives are still hunting down a number of men believed to be members of other syndicates with similar illegal businesses of producing and selling tokens carrying the Presidential Palace emblem.

Abubakar said that the forgery of the state seal was first reported by chief of the palace's internal affairs office on June 26.

"Based on the report, we immediately informed all our personnel and, in return, we received information on the same day about a number of men selling wares carrying the phony Presidential Palace emblem at a seminar at Hotel Indonesia," he said.

The police arrested the four suspects at the hotel and seized 21 wristwatches, six clocks, two pens, two tiepins, all of which carried the Presidential Palace emblem.

The four are identified as Syafrizal, 39, Budi Kusniadi, 36, Erbin Turmit, 31, and Agusmar, 36.

The police also confiscated the master copies and the machines used to produce the counterfeits at Agusmar's house at Johar Baru in Central Jakarta.

During police questioning, the suspects said that they had produced hundreds of things bearing the counterfeit Presidential Palace seal at prices ranging from Rp 40,000 to Rp 100,000 (US$42) since January, Abubakar said.

The suspects said they could make a profit of at least Rp 30,000 on each item.

Abubakar said he believed that there are still a number of other similar enterprises in Jakarta because the police had been informed that items using a phony presidential seal have been obtainable here since 1975.

"We hope for further information from the public," he said. (bsr)