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)