Watch out! More street bandits prey on vehicles, accessories

JAKARTA (JP): It was early afternoon. The female executive and a guest of her company were being driven in her C-200 Mercedes Benz sedan in South Jakarta, when suddenly three teenagers approached them while they were stopped at a traffic light on Jl. Hang Tuah.

"Two of them repeatedly banged on the car doors as if they wanted to frighten us and then pressed up against my driver's door to block him from getting out of the car," recalled businesswoman Tuty Senduk.

The third teenager, meanwhile, was able to rip off the car's sideview mirrors at leisure.

"It was all over in less than five minutes," she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

After acquiring their loot, the three fled in different directions, making it impossible for her nervous driver to catch any of them.

"When I screamed for help, nobody in the area, including the other motorists at that traffic light, were willing to lift a finger," she added.

Tuty then asked her driver to report the case to police at the nearby Taman Puring Subprecinct.

Flea market

Instead of trying to calm down the chauffeur, a police officer there told him: "Just try to find the missing mirrors at the Taman Puring flea market. They must be already there."

The officer was referring to a flea market located directly behind his office. Its array of stalls offer a vast variety of second-hand and new items, including car accessories, at extremely low prices.

After reporting the incident to the police, Tuty then went to her insurance company.

To her amazement, she saw that the three luxury sedans parked outside the company also had their sideview mirrors missing.

"I've been told that the price of one of these mirrors is about Rp 300,000 at the flea market compared to the original price of over Rp 1.4 million," Tuty said.

But Tuty and the owners of the three other sedans at the insurance company are lucky compared to other victims of street crimes, which have been increasing in frequency over the past few months.

TV series actor Adjie Massaid, for example, had his dark grey Jeep Cherokee stolen on Sept. 14 while it was parked on Jl. Cempaka Putih Raya in Central Jakarta.

Adjie said the vehicle, which had a license number B 164 ST, was his favorite in his collection.

New Cherokees retail for about Rp 300 million each, but used ones go for about Rp 150 million.

A female broker for a vehicle theft syndicate told the Post that she could offer a second-hand Jeep Cherokee for Rp 70 million.

"All the documents are absolutely complete. You can check it later with the police. But you'd have to change the color first before you could drive it on the street," she said.

Instances of car accessory and vehicle thefts are now reaching record highs in the capital and several other areas across the country.

Helpless

Thieves often carry out their operations with impunity, knowing that most passersby refuse to help the victims.

"Twice I've seen a group of men grabbing sideview mirrors off of luxury sedans near the traffic light on Jl. Hayam Wuruk (in Central Jakarta)," Riandi, an employee at a private firm, told a radio station.

"Most of the victims were females and they could only watch as the criminals got what they wanted, while I and other onlookers could do nothing in such heavy midday traffic," he said.

In an attempt to leave better cover their tracks, many car bandits have started to change their techniques. Some, for instance, cannibalize cars' accessories and engines while leaving behind the bodies on lonely streets.

The engines are then usually taken apart and later sold as separate parts in areas such as Asem Rages and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta.

"This tactic makes it difficult for police to trace the stolen items," said Rizal, a member of a car theft gang, who was arrested by Curug Police in Tangerang on Tuesday.

The growing number of thefts is mainly due to an increasing demand in the local market for used parts and second-hand vehicles since new ones have appreciated in price due to the weak rupiah.

"Every day, rich people or their maids come to the market here looking for many things, especially sideview mirrors for expensive cars," said a Taman Puring trader.

In an effort to avoid such a bad experience, many wealthy Jakartans and expatriates are now driving simple vehicles nowadays.

"But sometimes we have to treat someone, like a company guest, in such a way to make them more comfortable," said Tuty. (bsr)