Visiting Muslim figures robbed in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When representatives of the Rabithah Alam Islami (World Islamic League) came to Indonesia to counter perceived negative images of Muslims, little did they realize they would be going home a lot lighter than when they arrived -- US$300,000 lighter, to be exact.

Police on Friday were still investigating the theft, which occurred in the check-in area of the Hotel Borobudur in Central Jakarta.

"We are very sorry that this incident happened, and we have conducted a search at the crime scene and checked the hotel's CCTV recordings for clues," Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Friday.

He said that the group -- comprising religious leaders from the Middle East and Africa -- were checking into the hotel on Thursday when one of them took out a wad of cash to be exchanged at the hotel's money changer.

After the cash was placed inside a bag, the person concerned put the bag down on the floor. The bag was found missing soon after.

"During questioning, that person refused to say how much money was stolen, or what denominations it was in, and this makes our investigations more difficult," Firman said.

The investigations into the case were further complicated by the language barrier.

"We had difficulty in getting the details of the incident as they were all speaking Arabic," Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan said.

The thieves are still at large.

Firman said that the security of guests of the State should be assisted both by the guests' liaison officer (LO) and by the local police, "and the security is for the group, and not for individuals," he said, adding that police would also question the LO.

The delegation from Rabithah Alam Islami, led by the organization's secretary-general, Abdullah bin Abdul Muhsin At Turki, is here to give lectures on what it terms true Islamic teachings. Besides a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the group is also scheduled to lecture at the State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta, meet with religious leaders in Indonesia, and visit Aceh.

"We will investigate this case until we find the culprit. Hopefully the witnesses' statements, investigations at the crime scene and the CCTV recordings will make our investigation easier," Firman said.