Robbery rampant in Sarolangun

JAMBI: Jambi Provincial Police have stepped up security along the 102-kilometer Tembesi-Sarolongun highway due to the rampant robbery of motorists over the last two months.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Soemarsono, chief of the Sarko Police precinct, said robbery along the highway had been rampant over the last two months because of the highway's poor condition.

"Cars, public buses and trucks have to lower their speed because of the road's poor condition and armed robbers have frequently taken advantage of the situation to rob motorists and bus passengers," he said here on Tuesday.

He said the highway was vital to the supply of basic commodities, including fuel, from Java, Bengkulu and South Sumatra, to the province and to West and North Sumatra.

He said that this month the police had arrested nine armed robbers in several robbery incidents along the highway. --Antara