Robbers tie up family, take Rp 17m

JAKARTA: After neglecting to lock the front door and gate, four people found themselves locked in a single bathroom for several hours while four armed men robbed the house and took jewelry and cash worth a total of Rp 17 million (about US$2,000).

Edy Susanto, 50, and his wife, Linda, 50, were with a guest, Ria Yuni, 46, when four unidentified men casually walked into their house in East Kelapa Gading, East Jakarta, and, pointing a pistol, told them to lie down. The group were also armed with a machete, dagger and a sickle.

"The robbers tied the three up with shoe laces, and, along with the couple's son who had just gotten out of the bathroom, locked them in the bathroom, took their valuables and fled," said Kelapa Gading Police deputy chief Adj. Comr. F. Sinaga.

The house occupants managed to get out of the bathroom soon afterwards and reported the robbery to the police. --JP.