Victim of hypnotism

Victim of hypnotism

From Rakyat Merdeka

Crimes in Jakarta are on the rise and they are increasingly adopting a variety of different modus operandi.

At 11.30 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2001, my elder sister had just finished shopping at Hero Supermarket in Menteng when a young man approached her to ask about someone's address. He then offered to sell my sister a Rolex watch. My sister initially rejected the offer but he was persistent. Then, two men approached her and, as if she was under a hypnotic spell, my sister gave them Rp 5 million that she had just drawn from the ATM at the supermarket. Besides the money, my sister also gave them her gold necklace, gold ring and gold bracelet, all weighing a total of 55 grams.

I would like to remind housewives to be always on their guard against such practices, which frequently occur in the Menteng area. Also, I would like to call on the police in that area to pay attention to this sort of crime in which ladies are often made easy targets by criminals.

SULISTYO BUDHIASTUTI

Jakarta