Thief Arrested while Selling Motorcycle to a Dealer in Front of Tangerang City Mall

ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The police arrested a motor vehicle theft perpetrator while about to make a transaction with an accomplice in the parking lot outside the Tangerang City Mall, Banten Province.

Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Tangerang City Metro Police, AKBP Parikhesit, in his statement in Jakarta, Wednesday, said that the perpetrator with the initials RTS (28) was arrested in Jeletreng Village, Pengasinan Village, Gunung Sindur, Bogor, West Java.

"The incident occurred on Tuesday (3/3) evening, when the victim parked his motorcycle in the roadside parking lot before entering the mall. However, when he returned, the motorcycle was no longer there," he said.

According to Parikhesit, the vehicle is equipped with GPS so that the victim immediately reported to the police and the operational team (opsnal) immediately moved to follow the signal leading to the Sindur Mountain area, Bogor Regency.

Once they knew the position of the vehicle moving towards Bogor, the team immediately carried out tracking and pursuit.

"The perpetrator was successfully secured while about to make a transaction with the accomplice with the initials C.H alias A (43), who was also secured," he said.

From the results of the examination, the perpetrator admitted that he came to Tangcity using public transportation. He then sat around the parking area and observed the situation for about two hours, looking for vehicles that were judged to be negligent in their security.

When he found the motorcycle not locked at the handlebars, the perpetrator pushed it away from the parking lot. "He then made a duplicate key before taking the motorcycle away," said Parikhesit.

He added that before the transaction was completed, the perpetrator had asked the receiver for Rp. 150 thousand for the cost of making a duplicate key through a digital wallet application.

"This is not the first time. The perpetrator has sold the motorcycle to the same dealer twice. This means that there is a pattern and habit in this practice," he said.

From the hands of the perpetrators, the police confiscated one unit of black motorcycle, duplicate keys, two mobile phones and a number of vehicle documents.

Both perpetrators have been secured at the Tangerang City Metro Police for further investigation. The police are also investigating the possibility of another network in the case.

The perpetrator is charged with the crime of theft with the charge of sub-theft or theft is carried out as a habit or livelihood as referred to in Article 477 of the Criminal Code, sub-Article 591 of the Criminal Code or Article 592 of the Criminal Code.

The Tangerang City Metro Police Chief, Kombes Pol Raden Muhammad Jauhari, reminded the public not to be careless when parking their vehicles, especially in open areas.

"Make sure the vehicle is locked, use an extra key and park in a monitored location. Crimes occur because there is an opportunity. We will continue to take firm action against perpetrators of curanmor," he said.