Two arrested for stealing train cables

Two arrested for stealing train cables

JAKARTA (JP): Police have said they caught two youngsters red-
handed stealing train traffic system cables from railway tracks
in Depok late on Sunday.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang said on Monday
that the two suspects, identified as Dedi, 15, and Nasrun, 16,
both residents of Pancoran Mas in Depok, admitted to cutting the
cables at the Pondok Cina railway station in Depok but denied
they intended to cause a train crash.

"They admitted stealing five meters of cable and claimed that
it was on their own initiative," he said.

A packed Jabotabek electric train (KRL) was hit late on Friday
by a KRL Patas Pakuan train -- both plying the Jakarta-Bogor
route -- from behind at the Pondok Cina station, injuring 20
passengers, although none seriously.

"The KRL Jabotabek stopped at the station to let passengers
alight and board, but suddenly the other train hit it from behind
because the traffic lights were not functioning properly," he
said.

The accident left hundreds of passengers stranded, but no
fatalities were reported.

The cause of the collision was still being investigated by
local police in cooperation with officials of state railway
company Perumka, Aritonang said, adding that it was rare for
trains serving the same route to collide.

When they checked the signal cables, investigators found they
had been deliberately cut but it was too early to claim it was
sabotage, he said.

"Depok police then combed the area and spotted the two
teenagers attempting to cut other cables in Depok Baru early on
Sunday."

Police, however, suspected they were not working alone.

The cables were reportedly sold to a man in Depok for only Rp
5,000 (45 U.S. cents) per meter, Aritonang said.

He said police were expecting to arrest other teenagers
allegedly involved in the racket.

He believed the teenagers were attempting to get easy money
for cigarettes and alcohol.

"The arrested thieves admitted they and their friends chose
the jobs as it was an easy way to get money to enable them to
have fun," he said. (emf)