Thieves make away with 1.2-kg gold

JAKARTA (JP): Police are looking for thieves who stole 1.2 kilograms of gold, some jewelry and Rp 8 million (US$3,278) in cash from a house in Central Jakarta.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday the thieves used a crowbar to break into the home of an electronics businessman on Jl. Gunung Sahari Raya on Sunday.

He said the owner of the house, Junaedi Halim, his wife Yenni and their housekeeper left the house at about 11:30 a.m.

When they returned at about 2:30 p.m., they found the fence had been demolished and their bedroom had been trashed, he said.

Gold bars, cash, a ring, a bracelet, a necklace and other jewelry worth Rp 55 million were missing from a drawer, he said.

In a related development, Aritonang said the police were also hunting for thieves who stole Rp 550,000 from a secretary office of Bank Negara Indonesia on Jl. Jend. Sudirman yesterday.

"The thieves were also believed to use a crowbar to open the office on the 31st floor of the bank building," he said.

Muchlis Harun, a senior vice president of the bank, said an employee of the bank found the door of the office unlocked in the morning.

He said that it was believed that the thieves used the emergency stairs to avoid security cameras which were installed in the bank's elevators. (jun/cst)