Kemang Bar Faces Questions After Fatal Stabbing of Youth

Kemang Bar Faces Questions After Fatal Stabbing of Youth

Elisabeth Oktofani, Ismira Lutfia $ Zaky Pawas

Following the fatal stabbing of a high school student at a nightspot in South Jakarta’s trendy Kemang area, a children’s rights activist demanded that the nightclub be held responsible and called on the victim’s school to evaluate its teaching practices.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said on Sunday that the owners of SHY Rooftop should have had rules in place to keep out people under the age of 18.

“The nightclub owners should be held responsible for the stabbing of the Pangudi Luhur high school student because they didn’t enforce this law,” he said.

Arist said Pangudi Luhur students had a reputation for getting involved in brawls, indicating there was a need to evaluate the school’s teaching practices.

“As an educational institute, the school has to focus not only on its students’ academic achievements, but on molding their behavior,” he said.

However, whether the 17-year-old victim, Raafi Aga Winasya Benjamin, should have been allowed into SHY Rooftop may not be a clear-cut issue.

In Jakarta, the minimum age to be allowed into a nightclub is 17, and there is no age limit to enter restaurants.

Arie Budiman, the head of Jakarta’s Tourism and Culture Office, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that the permit given to the establishment classified it as a restaurant, bar and live music venue, meaning there is no restriction on who is allowed to enter.

He said the presence of a bar serving alcoholic beverages was part of the restaurant and there was a generally enforced minimum age limit of 17 to consume alcohol.

Yuan Kusuma, who manages several venues that operate nightclubs after 10 p.m., said the policy of keeping out younger patrons was in the hands of managers.

“You need to be 21 or over to get into one of my places,” he told the Globe. “However, before 10 p.m., anyone can dine at the restaurant and we check IDs before letting people in.

“I don’t know about other venues, but we drew up this policy ourselves and stick to provincial by-laws,” Yuan added.

He said that apart from checking IDs, his staff also frisk patrons and inspect the contents of their bags to check for weapons.

However, he admitted that the 21-and-over rule was difficult to enforce with women.

“Makeup can make a woman look older than she is,” Yuan said, adding that the rule was also flexibly enforced for women in a bid to drive up business.

“The more sugar there is, the more ants there are,” he said.

South Jakarta Police Sr. Comr. Imam Sugianto said officers were questioning 12 witnesses as part of its investigation into the circumstances behind the stabbing, which took place early on Saturday morning .

“The witnesses include patrons, friends of the victim, security guards and management personnel at the venue,” he said on Sunday.

Police are also studying closed circuit TV footage from the night. “We’re still analyzing the footage, hopefully it will give us more leads,” Imam said.

Raafi and about 20 friends arrived at SHY Rooftop at 11 p.m. on Friday for a birthday celebration. “They had drinks, but did not get drunk,” Imam said.

He added that at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Raafi got into an argument with six other patrons at the venue.

“We’re still not sure whether Raafi or his friends knew the people he was arguing with,” Imam said.

The argument escalated into a fight and Raafi was stabbed in the stomach, presumably with a knife. Imam said that at about 3 a.m., Raafi’s friends took him to a hospital in Pasar Minggu, but he died from blood loss.

His body was taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for an autopsy.

“We’re still waiting on the official results,” Imam said, adding that police were also still searching for the murder weapon.

He criticized the management of SHY Rooftop for not notifying police of the incident immediately and said that by the time officers arrived, the scene of the crime had been cleaned.

“They had mopped up the blood and rolled up the carpet,” Imam said. “They have destroyed evidence, which is a crime.”

“They did not file a police report,” he added. “We only learned of the stabbing after being informed by Raafi’s friends.”

Imam said police would distribute a letter to the managers of all nightspots and would add a new clause to the permits of new nightspots.

“We’ll follow up on getting a clause in the permits of existing venues obliging them to notify police of such incidents,” he said.

Kidnapped Indonesian Girl Safely Home, But a Warning for Parents

Kidnapped Indonesian Girl Safely Home, But a Warning for Parents

Agus Budiarto and Heny Marliana experienced the darkest moment of their lives in early August when their 6-month-old daughter, Cheryl Audrey, was abducted by their nanny.

They reported the case to the police and went on national television and online media to appeal for their daughter’s return. The media blitz proved to be valuable in the hunt for Cheryl.

Within two days, a couple who saw the appeal on TV brought the baby to Cakung subprecinct police station in East Jakarta and Cheryl was reunited with her parents. The nanny, Ina Asryiana, was arrested and is now in detention awaiting a possible trial.

Although the ordeal ended happily enough, the family is one of the very few to come through unscathed in such cases.

According to the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), 111 children were reported missing or kidnapped last year, only 5 percent of whom were ever returned to their families.

As of June this year, another 78 children have been abducted, according to figures from another watchdog, the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI).

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of Komnas Anak, told the Jakarta Globe that in many cases, families were unable to provide much help to the police investigating abductions.

“The police also usually only take action after the victim has been missing for more than 24 hours,” he added. “Less than that, and the police will tend not to look into the case, either because of limited evidence or a limited budget.”

Other than kidnap for ransom, Arist went on, some abductions were carried out by nannies, baby sitters or neighbors over unfair treatment by the family, perceived or otherwise.

Agus said that in his family’s case, the couple who turned in his daughter said they had bought Cheryl from Ina, whom they had only met once.

He said Ina had later claimed that she had not meant to kidnap the child, but had taken her because she could not bear to leave her behind when she traveled back to her hometown of Subang in West Java.

“But I don’t believe everything that she says,” he said.

Maria Ulfah Anshor, the KPAI chairwoman, said divorce was the main factor in child abduction cases.

“According to our data, 70 percent of child abductions happen because of a custody battle over the children between separated parents,” she said.

“That happens because someone refuses to accept a court’s decision on custody of the child.”

Only 30 percent of abductions are carried out for financial motives, she said. But the financial gain in such cases does not always come from demanding a ransom from the parents.

“Several weeks ago, the KPAI found two children working as beggars on a train,” Maria said.

“We later found out that they were forced to do that by a stranger. Unfortunately, when we asked them about the stranger’s address, they couldn’t give us any details. That makes it very hard for us to investigate the case.”

Other means of exploitation employed by kidnappers include forcing children into the sex trade or selling them to childless couples for profit.

Maria said it was important for parents and police officers to adopt preventive measures against child abduction.

“Parents must start educating their children to be wary about talking to strangers or receiving anything from them,” she said.

“The police also need to disseminate information among elementary school students about the issue, because most of the targets of child abduction are elementary school-age children.”

But for Agus, the real lesson to take away from the whole ordeal is never to entrust the care of his child to a complete stranger.

The nanny who kidnapped his daughter was hired from a maid placement agency in Senen, Central Jakarta.

“In order to prevent anything like this from happening again, I hope that the agencies that provide baby sitters and nannies become more selective about recruiting workers and train them properly,” Agus said.

“But I’ve given up putting my trust in baby sitters. I believe it would be much better for the parents to take care of their own children until they are old enough to talk and can defend themselves. Otherwise we will just be placing our own children in great danger.”

Court Hears How Busway Road Rage Shooting Just Missed Flaming Finale

Court Hears How Busway Road Rage Shooting Just Missed Flaming Finale

The TransJakarta driver whose bus was shot at in a case of road-rage in January testified on Monday that the alleged attacker had come close to blowing up the vehicle.

Taking the stand at the trial of Nico, also known as Siang Fuk, at the North Jakarta District Court, driver Muhammad Fitrianto said the defendant had fired four shots at the bus, narrowly missing its natural gas fuel tank at the back.

Fitrianto said the attack took place on Jalan Pluit Permai in North Jakarta. He said Nico, who was driving a red sedan, entered the busway lane behind his bus and appeared to be in a hurry.

“The incident occurred when I was pulling up to the Pluit shelter to pick up passengers,” he said.

“There were two buses in front of me and while I was waiting my turn, there was a red sedan [behind me] that kept honking its horn,” he added. “But I didn’t respond because I couldn’t do anything. There were two buses in front of me.”

He said he then heard three gunshots, “but I didn’t know where they came from or where they were aimed at.”

Fitrianto said the driver of the sedan then got out of his car and approached his window.

“He knocked on my door with something that looked like a wallet with some kind of badge,” he said. 

“I wasn’t sure what kind of badge it was, but it sounded like steel knocking against my door. Because I was stuck in the traffic and he was driving in the busway lane, I signaled for him to wait.

“Then he went back to his car and drove past and fired a shot at the left-hand side of the bus.”

Fitrianto said he was unaware that one of the earlier shots had only just missed the bus’s fuel tank.

“I only found out that there was a hole by the tank when I was about to fill up with fuel,” he told the court. “It was fortunate that he missed the tank, otherwise he could have blown the bus up.”

Jembar, a TransJakarta official who also testified at the trial, said Fitrianto reported the incident the next day and they filed a complaint with the Penjaringan Police.

Police later arrested Nico at his home in the upscale Pantai Indah Kapuk area of North Jakarta, where they said they seized the gun and uncovered a massive narcotics operation.

Second Insp. Lukman, who was part of the team that handled the case, told the court that police only expected to find the gun used in the attack.

“He gave that to us straight away, but then when we looked around, we found a room that was locked,” he said. “So we asked him to open it, and inside we found a safe. Inside the safe there was a bag containing large amounts of drugs.”

Police also made a further grisly discovery — tied and gagged in the room were two men, allegedly drug runners working for Nico. The men, who appeared to have been tortured, were allegedly being punished for failing to hand over Rp 50 million ($5,850) to Nico. 

Monday’s trial did not deal with the alleged torture.

Police said they retrieved more than 16,000 psychotropic pills, including ecstasy, and a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine in the surprise bust.

Nico did not object to any of the witness statements made on Monday. He stands accused of criminal assault, illegal possession of a firearm and trafficking of narcotics. The charges carry a maximum sentence of death.

The trial has been adjourned to Monday.

Mysterious Case of Amnesia Has Police, Family Baffled

Mysterious Case of Amnesia Has Police, Family Baffled

Lian Febriani, 26, vanishes without a trace on Thursday. Her family are at their wit’s end because the Transportation Ministry employee usually returns to the family home in Central Jakarta after work every day.

A day later, a woman wearing a full veil arrives at the At-Ta’awun Mosque in Cisarua, Bogor. She says her name is Maryam but cannot remember where she lives.

She has no identification on her but is carrying two Islamic-themed books under her arm. She tells the mosque’s caretakers she has no recollection of a past.

On Saturday, police officers contacted by the mosque question the woman and eventually ask her to write down a sequence of numbers familiar to her, hoping for a telephone number they can call.

After an intense 10 minutes of thinking, she comes up with a sequence. It is the number of Lian’s husband, Teguh.

Teguh informs the police that he knows nobody called Maryam, but says that his wife has been missing for two days.

Ever since that phone call, police in Bogor and Jakarta have been attempting to piece together the mystery of how Lian lost her memory and turned up in Cisarua with the name Maryam.

Cisarua Police Chief Adj. Comr. Iwan Wahyudi said on Monday that Lian did not recognize her husband or her in-laws when they came to see her but she remembered her baby.

She is now with her immediate family, who are trying to help her regain her memory.

Iwan said the police were looking into all possibilities and were searching the region for anyone who may have seen Lian.

“There are too many questions unanswered. It’s a puzzle,” he said. “The case is now in the hands of the Jakarta Police.”

He said that when he and his officers arrived at the At-Ta’awun on Saturday to question her, she appeared “empty.”

“She remembered nothing. She was attempting to remember but she couldn’t,” he added.

Separately, Edi Irawan, a security guard at At-Ta’awun, said the caretakers had tried their best to find out who the mysterious woman was after she walked into the mosque at about 4 p.m. on Friday and did not seem to want to leave.

“About an hour before she came to this mosque, there were five fully veiled women who got out of a car and prayed here,” Edi said. “After prayers, they looked as if they were searching for someone. They left a bit later. Not long after, Maryam came.”

Lian’s father, Lili Hambali, said on Monday that even though Lian was still unable to identify some of her family members, they were all happy that she was finally home.

He said Lian had been checked by a doctor and was found to be in good health aside from the amnesia. “ There was not a wound or mark on her body,” he added.

While the family did find the circumstances behind what happened to Lian odd, Lili said she was safe and sound now and that was what counted.

“Currently, we’re trying to focus on treating her and bringing back her memory,” he said.

“However, we are also trying to avoid bringing back memories of what happened to her when she disappeared.”

Danamon Assures Clients in Wake of Rp 3b Theft

Danamon Assures Clients in Wake of Rp 3b Theft

Bank Danamon Indonesia sought to calm its clients on Sunday after a bank teller allegedly stole Rp 3 billion ($342,000) from deposits at an undisclosed branch.

Zsa Zsa Yusharyahya, the head of public affairs at Bank Danamon, said on Sunday that no customer of the bank would suffer losses as a result of the fraud, allegedly conducted by a single employee of the bank.

“Our banking affairs will continue as usual. The money embezzled will not affect a single one of our customers,” she said. “Our internal control system detected the discrepancy, which we believe occurred at the hands of one of our tellers.

“We decided to file the case with the South Jakarta Police,” she continued. “We will not tolerate such behavior from any of our employees. That is why we reported the case immediately to the police.”

Adj. Sr. Comr. Arismunandar, chief of the financial crimes unit at the Jakarta Police Special Crimes Directorate, identified the suspect as 41-year-old RN.

RN, according to Arismunandar, was a head teller at one of the bank’s branches and had been with Danamon since 1995.

She is accused of pilfering money from 2008 until she was caught early this year, he added.

“She did it on an on-and-off basis,” he said.

“When customers hand over their money to be deposited into their accounts, the money would normally go directly into the bank’s safe. She pilfered small amounts each time.”

Arismunandar added that the woman eventually accumulated nearly Rp 3 billion, comprising Rp 1.9 billion and $110,000.

He said the theft was only spotted during a change in leadership at the branch concerned, when the branch’s books were examined.

“When the bank conducted an audit of the cashflow books, they found that some money that should have been sent to the headquarters was missing,” he said.

After the new branch manager questioned the teller, she was handed over to police.

“We arrested her on March 9,” Arismunandar said. “We have been interrogating her since.”

Aside from the Bank Danamon case, the Special Crimes Directorate is handling six other multibillion-rupiah financial crimes, all of which were filed with the police since the beginning of this year.

The six separate financial crimes involve at least 21 suspects, including employees with at least three other Indonesian banks.

Arismunandar said police were still questioning suspects linked to an accounts officer at Bank Internasional Indonesia who was arrested recently over a suspected Rp 3.6 billion fraud.

He added that his office was also investigating people responsible for duping customers with bogus investment schemes.

Investigations are underway in the case of a woman who lost Rp 800 million after putting her money into a fraudulent investment company.

Police plan to charge the owner of the company with fraud, embezzlement and money laundering, Arismunandar said.