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)