Reporters robbed aboard minivan

Reporters robbed aboard minivan

JAKARTA (JP): Two reporters and two other passengers were
robbed of belongings worth about Rp 4 million (US$500) by a gang
of five young men who boarded their public minivan near
Jatinegara railway station in East Jakarta early on Wednesday
morning.

The two reporters, identified as Emmy Fitri of The Jakarta
Post and Dwi Argo Santoso of Suara Pembaruan, and the other two
passengers were on their way from Salemba in Central Jakarta to
Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta at 4:10 a.m.

When they stopped outside the railway station, five young men
aged between 18 and 20 years old boarded the van. One sat in the
front next to the driver and the other four took seats in the
rear section of the vehicle, Emmy explained.

"Suddenly one of the five shouted 'Go' and the youth sitting
in the front seat threatened the driver with a knife while the
other four grabbed all they could get their hands on, including
wristwatches, necklaces and bags from the frightened passengers.

"My bag containing a mobile phone, three automatic teller
machine (ATM) cards, a wristwatch, Rp 500,000 in cash and other
important things, including my press cards, was taken by the
criminals," she said.

"We (the four victims) were told we would be killed if we put
up any resistance," she added.

"At first Argo refused to hand over his wallet to the crooks
so they slashed him with a dagger," Emmy said.

Fortunately the dagger was blunt and he was not severely
wounded, she said.

The crime was reported to the East Jakarta Police station but
police officers were unable to trace the robbers. (hhr)