Six men rob shop of Rp 300m

JAKARTA (JP): A group of six men robbed a shop in Tanah Abang market on Jl. Fakhrudin, Central Jakarta, on Sunday morning, escaping with gold and cash worth a total of Rp 300 million (US$40,000), a police officer said.

The officer at the identification unit of the Central Jakarta Police precinct, who asked for anonymity, said the robbers entered the shop at 6:30 a.m through the wall of an empty shop next-door.

"The shop owner, identified as Mahrun, was awakened by the noise, went to investigate, and was subsequently threatened by the robbers with machetes," the officer said.

He said the robbers tied up Mahrun and his three relatives, and threatened to kill them if they shouted for help.

The robbers then took the gold which was kept in a money belt by the owner, and emptied the cash drawer.

The robbers then left the shop through the broken wall and disappeared out of the next-door shop, he said.

The victims managed to untie themselves in few minutes and reported the robbery to the police. (jun)