Police on the lookout for six kidnappers

Wed, 04/29/2009 1:25 PM  |  City

JAKARTA: Six suspects were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of 25-year-old VH, a male employee of a garment store in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta, who was recently freed after a ransom was paid, police said Tuesday.

"We're still hunting down the perpetrators," said city police detective chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Nico Afinta.

WK, a cousin of VH, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said VH was currently safe and resting at his home in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

WK said the incident occurred at 5:30 p.m. last Saturday when VH was going home from work. Six people approached him and offered him a taxi ride. He was not suspicious and accepted the offer. But instead of taking him home, the perpetrators took him to an empty lot in Lenteng Agung in South Jakarta, where five of them beat him up and forced him to call his parents for a ransom. They demanded the parents pay Rp 30 million (US$2,790) for VH's safe return.

After receiving the call, VH's parents called the police.

On Sunday, the parents decided to pay the ransom, after negotiating it down to Rp 10 million. -JP

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.