Involved In Motorcycle And Cellphone Theft At Boarding House, 3 Teenagers In Labuan Bajo Arrested By Police

West Manggarai Police Satreskrim when securing as many as four perpetrators of motorcycle and cellphone theft in Labuan Bajo, Tuesday (23/1/2024). (ANTARA/HO-Humas West Manggarai Police)

LABUAN BAJO - Satreskrim Polres Manggarai Barat, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), arrested four perpetrators of theft of motorbikes and cellphones in Labuan Bajo. "We received three reports to the police and four victims with different TKP (scenes)," said West Manggarai Police Head of Criminal Investigation Unit AKP Angga Maulana in a statement received in Kupang, Wednesday, January 24. He explained that of the four suspected perpetrators who were arrested, one of them was still minors. The four suspected perpetrators who were arrested had the initials WS (20), AF (19), AIB (18) and KHI (17). The four suspected perpetrators are known to have stolen motorbikes and cellphones at three different crime scenes, starting in December 2023. He said the disclosure of the theft case that disturbed residents began with the arrest of WS (20) who was suspected of being the mastermind of the theft case, last Saturday. "Based on the results of the investigation and information in the field, we have arrested one of the alleged perpetrators," he said. From the arrest, the police then carried out developments and arrested AIB (18), AF (19) and finally KHI (17). "We managed to catch the four suspected perpetrators in different locations," he said. He added that in the three cases of theft, the alleged perpetrator WS (20) was always involved. It is suspected that he was the mastermind of the theft case because he invited his friends who were different in carrying out the theft. The first case involved the alleged perpetrators WS (20) and AIB (18) around December 2023. The two of them worked together to steal a motorcycle in the Waterfront City area of Labuan Bajo. "When carrying out the action, the alleged perpetrator deliberately looked for a motorcycle in the parking lot with the key still stuck to the motorcycle's socket," he said. Then, the second case was carried out in January 2024 involving the alleged perpetrators WS (20) and AF (19). The two of them worked together to steal a motorcycle in Marmovak Village, Golo Bilas Village, Komodo District, West Manggarai. "The perpetrator's alleged mode of carrying out the action is by observing the target at night. After feeling the opportunity, the suspect entered the yard of the resident's house. Then took the motorbike parked in front of the house," he explained. Furthermore, the third case was also carried out in January 2024. This time involved the alleged perpetrators WS (20) and KHI (17), both of whom committed the theft of two cell phones at a boarding house in Kaper Village, Golo Bilas Village. "The two alleged perpetrators share roles in carrying out their actions. KHI (17) acts as the executor by breaking into the boarding houses, while WS (20) acts to observe the surrounding atmosphere," he said. Furthermore, from the suspect's hands, the perpetrator managed to secure a number of evidences in the form of two stolen motorbikes, two motorbikes used by the alleged perpetrator during the action and eleven cellphones that were allegedly stolen. "For their actions, the four alleged perpetrators were charged with Article 363 Paragraph (1) 3 and 4 in conjunction with Article 65 Paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code with a penalty of seven years in prison," he explained. In addition, to prevent similar incidents, he also appealed to the entire community to be more vigilant and careful when parking motorized vehicles.

"Tindak kejahatan terjadi karena adanya niat dan kesempatan, maka masyarakat Manggarai Barat harus tetap selalu waspada dan hati-hati dalam menyimpan barang berharga, apalagi sepeda motor, pastikan selalu dalam keadaan diketahuan bila perlu tambah key ganda saat diparkan dan di lokasi yang aman," katanya.