Indonesian Gang Robbers Get Six Years And 12 Strokes
By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan - Two Indonesian men who committed gang robbery, theft and mischief by breaking a car window were each sentenced to 6 years 6 months' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane by the Bandar Intermediate Court Yesterday.

When Predi came out of the restaurant for a smoke, he saw his chance to commit theft when he observed a man holding a white envelope in his hand. He was able to see a big bundle of cash inside the envelope as it was partly opened.

Excited by the prospect, Predi alerted Empur Hati. Both defendants then trailed their victim. Both of them saw their victim place the envelope into the boot of his car that was parked in front of a shop, Maju Jaya Chop Chin Seng, located at No.26, Jalan Sultan in the capital.

When the victim moved away from his car, Predi broke the front driver glass window with a helmet. He opened the driver door to open the boot and stole the white envelope and its contents.

Predi dashed across the road and boarded the waiting motorcycle Empur Hadi was driving. Both made their getaway and later met with the man and divided the money with him.

When the victim discovered the theft, he immediately reported to the Bandar Central Police Station at about 9.56am. He had withdrawn BND$12,200 in cash from the bank. The cost of repairing the damaged glass window of his car was put at BND$100.

Meanwhile, both defendants then went to the same money remittance shop and sent $7,000 to three different Indonesian account numbers - $2,000, $4,000 and $1,000 respectively.

Both decided to use the remainder of their stolen money to purchase a mobile phone worth $243 and 10 Easi recharge cards worth $220 at a shop in Jalan Batu Sam.

On December 30, both defendants, spurred by their success the previous day, planned to commit another theft. They observed people leaving Baiduri Bank Berhad at Kiarong Complex. Empur Hati, as usual, waited on his motorcycle near the highway in his designated role as the getaway.

At about 2pm, Predi observed a 34-year-old woman coming out of the bank carrying a white envelope and walking towards her parked car. Predi targeted her as his next victim.

As the woman entered her car, Predi in a flash opened the front passenger door, grabbed her handbag and the white envelope, which was on the seat next to her, and quickly ran towards the highway.

The woman had withdrawn $22,413 in cash. She had placed $20,113 in the white envelope and kept the rest in her handbag.

The woman's cry for help was answered by a member of the public, who ran after Predi. To avoid being nabbed, Predi threw the handbag at the person chasing him. Another bystander retrieved the handbag and returned to the woman.

Predi continued to run and boarded the moving motorcycle driven by Empur Hati. They both tried to get away from the scene.

Meanwhile, another person witness to the entire drama while driving on the highway, decided to foil Predi and Empur Hati's escape by knocking down the motorcycle with his car.

Both defendants fell from the motorcycle and started running. Predi ran across the road to a mosque nearby where he landed into a 9ft deep drain and was cornered by the public.

With no options left, he surrendered. The white envelope containing the money was retrieved from him.

Empur Hati, meanwhile, ran and hid behind a bush but was caught by the police with the assistance of a dog from the Gurkha Reserve Unit.

Both defendants admitted to committing the thefts. They also implicated two other men in the crimes.

Predi and Empur Hati's personal belongings from their rented accommodation were seized by the police.

This included the mobile phone and 10 Easi recharge cards that both defendants had bought with the stolen money. An undisclosed amount of money was also found in the defendants' possession.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Aldila Hj Mohd Salleh conducted the prosecution. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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