Taxi stolen, driver tied to tree

BOGOR (JP): Bogor Police detectives are on the lookout for three armed men, who rode off in a stolen Jakarta-based taxi after tying the driver to a tree in the Gebluk village of Palasari, Cijeruk district, early Wednesday morning.

A police officer on Thursday quoted the taxi driver, Nurbuat, 46, as saying that the three men stopped his car around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday while he was driving along Jl. Tebet Raya in South Jakarta.

"The driver said that he's working for PT Silver Taxi," the officer, who refused to be named, said.

The three men asked Nurbuat for a ride to the Cibubur flower gardens in East Jakarta.

"Upon reaching Cibubur, one of the passengers pointed a gun at me. They then handcuffed me," Nurbuat said as quoted by the officer.

"The passengers took off my shirt and tied it around my eyes, and then dragged me to the taxi's backseat. I had no idea where they were going to take me," the driver testified.

The three armed men probably drove Nurbuat around till they reached Cijeruk, where they took him out of the taxi, and used a rope to tie him to a nearby tree.

The suspects then sped off in the taxi.

"When I succeeded in untying myself, I rushed to nearby residents and told them the story. They then escorted me to Cijeruk police station," he said.

Bogor police detectives are still investigating the case. (21/ylt)