Taxi stolen, driver tied to tree

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)