Three burglars break into foreign journalist's house

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of three burglars broke into the home of a New York Times journalist in the upmarket Menteng area, Central Jakarta, early on Friday, and stole two laptop computers, a computer monitor and a bag full of documents.

Central Jakarta police chief Sr. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan said on Friday that officers were attempting to track down the culprits who broke into the house of Jane Perlez and her husband Ray Bonners.

"We are investigating the case. We suspect members of a burglary syndicate are involved." he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said that at least three burglars broke into the house, which is located on Jl. Muh. Yamin, at around 1 a.m. through the left side of the building that is currently undergoing renovation.

Sukrawardi said that the burglars only managed to take two laptops, a computer monitor, and a bag as it seems they were in a hurry to get out of the house.

"They probably jumped from a wall on the left side of the house without much difficulty as it is under construction. They just grabbed whatever they could to avoid getting caught. We are not sure if they knew what was inside the bag," he said.

Mida Sutikno, the security guard at the house, said that he did not know when the burglars entered the house but added that a night shift security guard, identified as Murdi, found signs of the burglary at 5:00 a.m..

He said that the thieves jumped into the house from a wall on the left side when everybody in the house, including the owners, were asleep.

Sukrawardi said that the police had not ruled out the possibility that an insider was involved.

"That's why we will question everyone, including the security guards, to find clues. We want to know why the security guards did not know that a group of people had entered the house," he said.

Residences in the area are tightly guarded as many high- ranking government officials and foreign diplomats live there.

Beside having guards to watch over the residential estate as a whole, each of the houses have their own security guards who work in shifts.

In addition, there is a military command office not far from Jl. Muh. Yamin.