Dutch Tourists Snatched While On Vacation In Batam, Police Arrest 2 Perpetrators

Disclosure of the mugging case against Dutch tourists at the Barelang Police, Thursday (27/6). (ANTARA)

The Barelang Police (Batam, Rempang, Galang) arrested two people with the initials YS and SD who were suspects in the mugging of tourists from the Netherlands that occurred in Batam, Riau Islands yesterday.

"The two suspects, YS and SD were arrested on Wednesday. The suspect YS was arrested at his home in Sekupang, and the suspect SD was arrested at his boarding house," said Barelang Police Chief Kombes Pol Nugroho Tri Nuryanto as quoted by ANTARA Thursday, July 27.

Kapolresta Nugroho explained that the two suspects did not carry out the action only once. After he carried out the mugging of Dutch tourists, the next day, on Monday, they again snatched a resident from Tanjungpinang in Batam.

"The modus operandi in these two incidents is almost the same, yes, they ride on motorbikes, then stalk the victim who can be snatched. When the victim was caught off guard, they immediately pulled the victim's bag from behind," he said.

From the results of the arrests of the two suspects, the police confiscated the first victim's evidence in the form of a driving license (SIM), insurance card, ATM card and Rp2.5 million in cash.

The second victim consisted of two cell phones, three ATM cards, three credit cards, one jadechovy and 300 Malaysian ringgit and Rp. 10 million. "So the total loss from the first victim was around Rp. 10 million, and the second victim was around Rp. 25 million," he said.

The police chief explained that one of the suspects with the initials SD was a recidivist in the same case in 2017, while YS only followed suit.

During the arrest, the two suspects had to be given firm and measured action on the legs, for trying to fight the officers when arrested.

For their actions, the two suspects charged with Article 365 of the Criminal Code concerning theft with violence are threatened with a maximum imprisonment of 12 years in prison.