Students held for extortion

The Makassar police subprecinct in East Jakarta detained six students for allegedly extorting money and valuables from public bus passengers, a police report said on Friday.

The six were among 20 students arrested on Thursday after police received reports from bus passengers that the boys had threatened them with sharp weapons on Thursday afternoon.

According to the report, the six were held for further questioning because police found them in possession of sharp weapons.

The public bus was P9 Mayasari Bakti, plying the Bekasi- Kampung Rambutan route.

Several bus passengers reported to a local police post at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah intersection immediately after a group of high school students who had been riding on the bus began extorting money and other valuables from the passengers.

Police officers moved fast and managed to apprehend the students, who were not far from the police post. --JP