Withdrawing cash? Ask for police for help

Withdrawing cash? Ask for police for help

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Police are recommending that bank customers who withdraw
a large amount of money avail of a free police escort service in
an effort to curb rampant robbery attempts.

"It's better for customers to first contact the police for an
escort before they withdraw money," said Jakarta Police
spokesperson Sr. Comr. Prasetyo over the weekend. "As far as I
know, the police never refuse to assist the public. Moreover, the
service is free of charge."

Customers requesting police assistance, have to notify the
police in advance because the number of officers is limited.

He also reminded the public to use the police hotline 112 in
emergencies.

Robberies, sometimes violent, of bank customers have been on
the rise. In early February, four unidentified men robbed a
Frenchman Paul Quinn who had just withdrawn Rp 140 million
(US$16,500) from a bank in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. One of
the robbers even shot at Quinn but the bullet went through the
driver's window and lodged in the dashboard. The robbers are
still at large.

Two bank robbers, Suparjo and Jumadhi, arrested by police in
January, admitted that they had observed all customers coming out
of banks. They would identify who had just withdrawn a large
amount of money and later followed them.

The two suspects had watched Yani Ladhi coming out of a bank
on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, carrying a large brown
envelope. They later followed Ladhi's car and waited before she
got out of the vehicle. Later, they broke into Ladhi's parked car
and fled with Rp 9 million inside a brown enveloped she had kept
under the driver's seat.

An officer with a state-owned bank, who requested anonymity,
told The Jakarta Post that security outside bank branches was not
the responsibility of the bank.

"We are responsible for security inside the bank, we have
several guards inside and in the parking lots," the officer said.
"The guards in parking areas are always on the lookout for any
suspicious people around the compound."

Therefore, he advised bank customers to use the online service
when they wanted to transfer money.

"Banks now have advanced technology to transfer money in a
more practical, faster and safer way ," he said. "It won't take
much effort to transfer salaries to your employees. Sometimes, I
wonder why customers are still willing to take the risk of
withdrawing cash, whereas it's much safer to transfer through the
online system."