Theft victims refuses to cooperate with police

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Police complained on Sunday that visiting Muslim leaders from the Middle East and Africa were not cooperating with them in investigating a claim that they lost US$300,000 at Hotel Borobudur in Central Jakarta last week.

Chief of the general crime unit at Jakarta Police, Sr. Comr. Moh. Jaelani, said that they had come to Borobudur Hotel three times last Saturday, but the religious leaders refused to meet them.

"We are continuing to investigate the case, but it is difficult for us to find any leads as we don't have any information from the victims. They didn't even file a formal report on the case," he told The Jakarta Post.

Members of the Rabithah Alam Islami (World Islamic League) -- comprising religious leaders from the Middle East and Africa -- were checking into the hotel last Thursday when two of them, identified as Abdul Satar and Ali Sulaeman, went to the hotel's money changer to change money.

While changing money at the counter, one of them put his bag down on the floor. He allegedly discovered that the bag was missing shortly after.

They then reported the incident to the hotel's management, which later called the nearby police precinct. However, none of the representatives, who could only speak Arabic, wanted to talk about the incident. There was no reason given.

Jaelani said that the police had provided interpreters to enable the representatives to explain what they knew about the case in Arabic.

"We need them to tell us what really happened. We also need to know the color and the type of the bag as well as how much money was inside the bag and the denomination of the notes," he said.

Jaelani said that the hotel's CCTV recording showed that a man with a bag in his hand walked out of the door but they were not sure if it was the stolen bag.

He said that other than that, the CCTV recording was not clear as many people were present at the crime scene at that time.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that the officers from Jakarta Police Headquarters, Central Jakarta precinct and Sawah Besar subprecinct were working together to find the thief.

"Although we have obstacles as the victims still refuse to give us information we need, we will continue the investigation," he said.

The delegation, led by the organization's secretary-general, Abdullah bin Abdul Muhsin At Turki, is here to give lectures on what it terms true Islamic teachings. Besides a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the group is also scheduled to lecture at the State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta, meet with religious leaders and visit Aceh.

The stolen money was supposed to be donated to tsunami victims in Aceh.