Addicted To Online Gambling And Food Needs, 5 People In Pontianak Steal Road Barriers To Close Sewers

WEST KALIMANTAN - West Kalimantan Police arrested five thieves who vandalized various public facilities made of iron along Ahmad Yani Street, Pontianak City. The stolen iron is then sold by the perpetrators to a used goods shelter.

"The five perpetrators of the theft case were arrested, with the initials De, To, Pa, and Wi as vandals and thieves of public facilities, then Aj was also arrested as a collector of stolen goods", said Director of General Criminal Investigation of the West Kalimantan Police, Commissioner Aman Guntoro in Pontianak, Antara, Tuesday, March 15th.

He explained that the disclosure of cases of theft of various public facilities equipment was thanks to public reports. And this theft case occurred from January to March 2022.

"When the arrest was made, there was resistance from one of the perpetrators, so the officers were forced to shoot to incapacitate them because they had resisted and endangered the officers", he said.

When questioned, the perpetrator's motive for stealing public facilities was because he did not have money to eat and to play online gambling.

The items stolen by the perpetrators were iron roadblocks and sewer covers. It is estimated that the losses suffered by the government during the incident reached IDR 185 million, including damage to the pavement tiles along Ahmad Yani Street, Pontianak.

"We have carried out an evaluation, so it is hoped that the relevant agencies will make construction changes in the future", he said.

On that occasion, the Director-General of the West Kalimantan Police appealed to the public if they saw a suspicious person or group of people destroying public facilities, to immediately report it to the nearest police so that it can be processed and verified.

"We will snare the five perpetrators to a maximum, namely four people related to theft and one person as a collector of the stolen goods with a threat of five years in prison", he said.