Robbery at gas stations rampant: Police

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)