Robbers steal Rp 75m from bank client in South Jakarta

Robbers steal Rp 75m from bank client in South Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Two men on a motorcycle got away with Rp 75
million (US$11,500) on Tuesday when they grabbed a bag belonging
to a businessman who had just withdrawn the money from a bank.

So far nobody has been arrested in connection with the
robbery, which occurred near the parking lot of Indorama office
building on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.

The victim, 46-year-old Sucipto, has a broken leg and grazes.
The police report says he was immediately taken to nearby MMC
hospital. However, hospital officials deny the report.

During the incident, Sucipto was carrying a plastic bag
containing the Rp 75 million he had withdrawn from Bank Central
Asia on Jl. Fatmawati.

At the bank he was accompanied by his boss, who later drove
Sucipto to Jl. Rasuna Said. There he was to deliver the money to
PT Amek Indorama.

At 2:50 p.m. the car stopped across the street from the
building and Sucipto had to cross the busy road to get to PT Amek
Indorama.

Before he reached the parking lot of the building, two men on
a Yamaha RX King motorcycle passed him and snatched the plastic
bag containing the money.

Sucipto tried to run after the robbers but stumbled and fell
over on the street. He broke his right leg and sustained grazes
in the fall.

Nobody witnessed the crime and according to Sucipto he was
alone when he carried the money.

"We have always advised people who withdraw large amounts of
money to use security personnel," South Jakarta Police chief Lt.
Col. Satria Harry Prasetya said.

Two similar street robberies occurred in Central Jakarta on
Monday last week and in mid-February where two robbers on a
Yamaha RX King motorcycle made off with Rp 564 million and Rp 500
million respectively.

At midday on July 12, private employee Budi Zakaria, 34, who
had just withdrawn Rp 564 million from Bank Bali on busy Jl. M.H.
Thamrin in Central Jakarta, was robbed by two men on an RX King
motorcycle, a vehicle commonly used by street robbers in the
country.

As in many similar robberies of bank customers on the street,
police have not managed to identify the robbers.

The July 12 robbery took place in front of scores of people in
the bank's parking lot, but none of them attempted to stop the
robbers from escaping.

Budi was about to open the door of his car parked in the lot
when the two men approached him on their motorcycle, pressed a
pistol to his back and snatched the bag.

In mid-February, a similar street robbery took place on Jl.
Haji Agus Salim. The suspects, who made off with Rp 500 million
in cash, fired at least two shots to make onlookers give way as
they escaped on their motorcycle, also an RX King.

When asked about the possibility that these street robberies
where conducted by the same men, Lt. Col. Prasetya said he had no
idea since the case was still under investigation with strong
backup from other police stations in the capital.

"Based on our experience, the robbers probably observed the
victim for a certain amount of time before going into action,"
Prasetya said. (03/bsr)