Woman survives unscathed to tell of amiable robbers

Woman survives unscathed to tell of amiable robbers

JAKARTA (JP): Susan had heard many times about taxi robberies
in Jakarta, but she never expected it would happen to her. Worse,
she was kept in a motel by her robbers for more than six hours
before being dropped off on the side of the road in the middle of
the night.

"I was really scared when I realized that they took me to the
motel. I was afraid they would rape me," Susan told The Jakarta
Post on Friday night. "Thank God they didn't touch me."

Three days earlier, on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., Susan got in a
taxi in front of her office, a British-Indonesia chemical
company, on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta. But after a few
meters, the vehicle suddenly stopped and another man got in.

"I tried to get out, but I could not open the door. The handle
was broken," she said. "Next time I take a taxi, I will first
make sure there is nothing wrong with the door and the handle."

The man pointed a knife at her stomach and tied her hands.
"Don't mess with us, or you'll face a fate like the other girl,"
he was quoted by Susan as saying. He said he had stabbed a girl
because she was not cooperative. He also said they had robbed a
taxi driver and were using the cab -- which belonged to the
Steady Safe taxi company -- to rob would-be passengers. He showed
her blood stains on the front seat.

"It was scary, but I had to remain calm. If I panicked, if I
cried or resisted, he could have killed me," Susan said. "I said
I would give them everything they wanted and begged them not to
hurt me."

The man searched her handbag and found her ATM card. They
headed to the bank's ATM in Kelapa Gading, East Jakarta. She had
Rp 2.8 million in the bank, but the man could only withdraw Rp 1
million, the maximum amount customers are allowed to withdraw in
one day. After withdrawing the money, the trip continued.
Suddenly, Susan felt as if she was in a daze.

"From the window, I saw a statue of Jesus opening his arms...
that made me peaceful," said Susan. "We were on Jl. A. Yani. Do
you know of such a statue there? I wonder if it was real."

When the taxi finally stopped, the 30-year-old Susan was
shocked. "We were at a motel. I was afraid they would rape me."

In the room, they covered her mouth with tape. They took her
ring, watch and necklace, along with her cellular phone.

The first man, who drove the taxi, talked on the phone with
his friends, and overhearing the conversation, Susan concluded he
was a professional robber.

The man later left the room.

"I was alone in the room with the second man. I tried to be
nice and chatted with him. We talked and talked; this was my
strategy to prevent him from thinking dirty about me," said
Susan.

It was not difficult for her to start a conversation because
her job is collecting debts for her company, a profession which
requires good communication skills.

She was also successful in persuading the man to untie her
hands. "I ensured him that I wouldn't go anywhere."

The second man said he was a sailor and told her that the
first man was his brother-in-law. He said they needed money
because his wife, who was about to deliver a baby, was in the
hospital.

"We talked like friends. We watched Stalking together on the
TV," Susan said.

"I asked him if I could have the GSM card from my cell phone
because I need the addresses. He said no, and he wrote them down
on a piece of paper," Susan said. "But he only wrote 10 names
because his brother-in-law came in."

"We chatted again. We talked about life, about ourselves..."

Fifteen minutes before midnight, they left the motel. "Before
leaving the room, I offered my hands to be tied. I emphasized
that I was cooperative."

After withdrawing another Rp 1 million from an ATM, Susan
asked them to keep their promise to let her go. She was afraid
she would be dumped somewhere dark with her hands and legs tied
and mouth taped. However, on Jl. A. Yani the robbers let her go.
They even stopped a taxi for her, gave her Rp 20,000 and kissed
her forehead.

"They said 'sorry' and I said 'thank you, you still respect me
as a woman, and I also respect your profession,'" said Susan.

She arrived safely at her boarding house on Jl. Setia Budi,
South Jakarta, less than 30 minutes later and was soon crying on
her roommate's shoulder. She did not report the case to the
police. (sim)