Theft reported at Akbar's house: Police

Theft reported at Akbar's house: Police

JAKARTA (JP): City police have launched an investigation into
a reported burglary in the early morning hours of Saturday at the
residence of Golkar Party chairman and House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung.

Akbar was out of town and no members of his household at Jl.
Widya Chandra III/10, in the ministerial housing complex in
Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, were willing to confirm the
reported burglary.

But Jakarta Police chief spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said
the burglar, or burglars, made off with a bag containing two
checkbooks and Rp 2 million in cash.

There was no evidence of breaking and entering in the working
room where the bag was believed to have been left, Zainuri said,
adding that the burglary took place at about 4:30 a.m.

"I got a call this morning reporting the burglary at Akbar's
house. I asked my men to check, and there was indeed a burglary,"
Zainuri said without giving the identity of the caller.

He refused to give more details, and instead directed
reporters to the Kebayoran Baru District Police.

But subdistrict police chief Maj. Sudjatmo was puzzled when
asked about the case.

"Burglary? What burglary? We did not receive any reports about
a burglary at Akbar's house," he said.

The gate to Akbar's residence was locked and the security
guard, Supriyadi, refused to answer any questions about the
burglary.

"Look, I know what you're up to, but I can't say anything," he
said as he ran back to the house.

Guards from next door, which is the official residence of
State Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises
Zarkasih Nur, said they did not see or hear anything suspicious
on Friday night.

Syafei and Setiono said they were also not aware of any
burglary at Akbar's house.

"We just saw it on TV," Setiono said.

The alleged theft at Akbar's residence has sparked anger from
several House members.

Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, the chairman of House Commission I
for defense, foreign and political affairs, said the incident
insulted the National Police, who had recently vowed to tighten
security around legislators following the recent attempted murder
of Matori Abdul Djalil, the deputy speaker of the People's
Consultative Assembly, and the unsolved shootings from several
parts of the House complex.

Legislator Faisal Baasir blamed the theft on police officers
who were assigned to safeguard the residences of the lawmakers.

"I want all the police officers, including their superiors,
who were assigned to secure the complex, to be replaced as soon
as possible," he told a local television station. (09/bsr)