Street vehicle robbers busted

JAKARTA (JP): Two men were arrested in separate places on Thursday for respectively attempting to rob a Kijang van and a motorcycle from the owners, an officer said.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis told reporters that the first suspected vehicle thief, identified as Hendrik Jayadi, was apprehended at 1 a.m. on Jl. Raya Pademangan, North Jakarta by dozens of local residents.

The 23-year-old jobless man was immediately surrounded by the crowd, who rushed to the scene after hearing the scream of Zaenal Arifin, the owner of the Kijang van.

According to Zaenal, the suspect blocked his way and pointed his knife at him and asked Zaenal to get out of the vehicle.

Knowing that there were groups of people nearby, Zaenal then shouted loudly for help.

Officer Lubis said that the suspect was beaten first by the mob before they handed him over to the nearby police station.

About half an hour later on nearby Jl. Jembatan Tiga in Penjaringan, the second suspect, Peter Budi Patra, was arrested by patrol police while trying to rob a motorcycle from the owner with his knife. (jun)