Suspect preying on tourists arrested on extortion charges

JAKARTA (JP): City police have arrested a 24-year-old man alleged to have extorted money and precious goods from foreigners and tourists staying at exclusive hotels.

Head of the Operational Affairs of the On-the-Alert City Police Squad, Capt. Syaiful Bd., said on Saturday that the suspect, who always wore a tie during his modus operandi, was identified as Faruch bin Rosid Ridho, a resident of Jl. Pajar Baru Raya 45, Cengkareng, East Jakarta.

The suspect, alleged to have been carrying out his modus operandi over the last four years, is now being detained for further questioning at the City Crime Investigation Directorate.

Syaiful said the police are still facing problems in investigating the case because, to date, no reports have been submitted to police by any victims of the extortionist.

"We arrest him based on information available about his criminal activities," he said.

Faruch was nabbed last week during a daily security operation of the On-the-Alert Squad near Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta.

The suspect is alleged to have extorted money from his victims at knife point. Police said most of his victims are foreigners staying in nearby hotels, such as the Mandarin Hotel, President Hotel and Grand Hyatt Hotel.

City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto told The Jakarta Post on Friday that executives of the Japan Club, in the city, had come to see him, asking police to protect them against extortionists.

"The club, with a membership of 10,000 Japanese, complained that a great number of Japanese people have become the targets of extortion," Hindarto said.

Hindarto said that he had instructed his men to act swiftly against these extortionists.(bsr)