Robbery at gas stations rampant: Police

JAKARTA (JP): Gas station robberies are on an upward trend, with both gas station attendants and gasoline buyers being victimized, police said over the weekend, with robberies reaching 21 in the city over the past four months

A man was badly beaten Saturday by residents near a gas station on Jl. Meruya Utara, West Jakarta, for allegedly stealing Rp 2.8 million from the gas station's cash drawer, police said.

The suspect, identified as M. Anis, 24, was caught red-handed by gas station attendant Nuryanto, 25, when Anis tried to hide the money in his jacket.

Anis' accomplice, Sony, 25, who ran away during the melee, was caught in Cengkareng area yesterday.

Sony acted as a decoy by pretending to buy gasoline to enable Anis to reach the cash drawer, which was not be watched.

"The two suspects got panicky and left their motorbike behind when nearby residents ran after Anis and beat him up," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said.

Both suspects were taken to Kembangan precinct, West Jakarta, for questioning.

Police seized the Rp 2.8 million and an RX King motorbike, license plate number B3332AB.

"I was forced to rob the gas station because Sony told me to. Besides, I don't have money to pay off my motorbike," Anis allegedly said to police, adding that the motorcycle had been bought just four months ago on credit.

In a separate incident, two people were arrested for stealing a mobile phone from a gas station customer in Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, Saturday.

The suspects, identified only as Na, 26, and Sah, 20, were arrested by gas station attendants and the customer, Tan James, 42.

At about 11 a.m., the two suspects were pretending to be toy sellers, offering their merchandise to James. When James left the car to pay for the gas, both suspects grabbed the phone, which was on the front seat of the car.

James immediately yelled for help and both criminals were surrounded.

The robbery is being handled by Cengkareng Police.

According to Aritonang: "Both suspects admitted to having carried out a series of petty thefts, including grabbing wallets, necklaces and other easily accessible valuable goods."

Two other gas station robberies took place in Bogor and Bekasi.

In Bogor, three alleged robbers managed to grab Rp 24 million on Friday from Gunung Putri gas station after threatening attendants with sharp weapons.

One of the attendants, Supri, 25, said that they were about to count the money when three men came and asked for gasoline.

"But we were suspicious, as there were three people with only one motorbike," he said.

The three people then allegedly grabbed hold of the cash drawers and took all of the cash, Sinar Pagi reported.

"They escaped on two RX King motorbikes. The other motorbike was hid behind a big pole. We did not even have a chance to copy down the plate number. It happened so fast," Supri said.

In Bekasi, a gas station at Kalimalang Km.24 was reportedly robbed at about 11 p.m. Saturday.

"The robbers grabbed about Rp 400,000 in cash. We're currently investigating the incident. So far, we haven't caught any suspects." Lt. Col. Adjie Rustam, head of Bekasi Police said. (edt)