Woman reports robbery in unlicensed taxi to police

JAKARTA (JP): A woman on Monday filed a report with the police stating that she had been robbed in a chartered private sedan at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The woman, who identified herself as Lisa Mamonto, 33, a resident of Pangkal Pinang in South Sumatra, was on an overnight stopover in Jakarta on her way the next day to Manado, North Sulawesi.

Lisa said that at the airport she was offered transportation by a man operating a private sedan taxi.

Commonly referred to here as taxi gelap, private sedans operating as taxis without a meter, are commonly found across the capital.

After agreeing on a price of Rp 55,000 to be taken to Cikini, Central Jakarta, where she was going to search for accommodation for the night, Lisa got into the Kijang van with the man.

But as they were leaving the airport, two men suddenly emerged from the back of the van and threatened her with a sickle.

She handed over the Rp 4 million she was carrying and her bags.

She was finally let go near the Semanggi cloverleaf in South Jakarta.

Police said they would soon start an investigation into the case. (ylt)