Watch out! More street bandits prey on vehicles, accessories
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)