Sailor climbs lamppost after taking heroin

JAKARTA (JP): A sailor under the effects of heroin climbed a 12-meter lamppost on the busy Senen flyover in Central Jakarta and stayed there for at least 10 hours between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The man, identified as Agus Salam, 40, was believed to have climbed the pole at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday and remained there until the following morning.

The man, who works for fishing company PT Harini Asri Bahari, confessed to having taken the drug during questioning at a nearby police station.

Agus said he arrived in the capital on Saturday after a one- year assignment at sea.

Upon disembarking, Agus, who is a ship's chef, decided to stay with relatives in Kedung Halam, Bogor, while waiting for his salary to be paid.

The following Monday, Agus went to his employers office on Jl. Kerapu near North Jakarta's Sunda Kelapa port to collect his salary. "My salary was not ready, so I borrowed Rp 1 million from the company," Agus explained.

"Later that night, I bought some white power for Rp 300,000 from a friend of my relatives," Agus said.

He admitted to later taking the heroin at his relatives' house, saying that it was his first experience with the drug.

"I didn't feel anything after taking it. Everything was just normal. I even received a phone call from my wife, who asked me when I was planning to return home," said Agus, who was born in Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara, but now lives in Bali.

Agus promised to return home as soon as he received his salary.

On Tuesday, he claimed to have taken a second dose of the drug before setting off for Jakarta in search of the money he was owed.

"On the way, I began to feel as though a group of men were following me. I felt like I was being followed while I was traveling by ojek (motorcycle taxi), bemo (three-wheeled van) and even on the train from Bogor to Jakarta. One of my pursuers attempted to kill me," Agus said.

Upon reaching Kota railway station in West Jakarta, a frightened Agus went to a nearby police station and asked for protection.

The duty officer informed the deluded man's relatives and they arrived to collect him at around 9 p.m.

On the bus home, the sailor's relatives kept him under a close watch. However, his drug-induced fears persisted, and in a bid to escape from his fictitious pursuers, Agus leapt from the bus as it stopped at a red light in the Cempaka Putih area of Central Jakarta.

"I ran and ran to get away from the men who were following me," he said, explaining that he climbed the lamppost to escape their attentions.

Passersby who saw Agus sitting on his high perch presumed he was mad and did not give him a second thought.

A few hours later, police attempted to coax Agus into descending, but the sailor shouted back that he was being followed and was scared.

He removed his gray trousers and used them to secure himself to the lamppost.

When he saw a fire engine arriving on the scene at 9 a.m., Agus, who still appeared frightened, took the initiative and descended of his own accord.

He was then taken to Senen police subprecinct for questioning. (emf)