Locksmiths wary of criminal attraction

Mon, 11/09/2009 1:22 PM  |  City

Being able to conquer any unlocked door may mean that the world feels like it is left open to you at all times.

Many duplicate key-makers are proud of their skills, although it occasionally puts them in inconvenient situations.

Thirty-year-old Metrionis, who runs a duplicate key stall in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, still remembers the day when he came very close to becoming unconsciously involved in a robbery.

"It was a sunny day last year when a middle-aged man suddenly called and told me he had just lost his back door key," the skinny and dark-skinned man told The Jakarta Post recently.

"I had no customers that day, so I rushed to his house after he agreed to pay me Rp 100,000 *US$10*."

He came to a house located near the National University campus in Jatipadang, South Jakarta, where the man was waiting for him.

After spending fifteen minutes trying to unlock the back door of the house, Metrionis started to feel suspicious.

The man frequently told him to stop making noise when people passed the street in front of the house.

Feeling uneasy about the situation, Metrionis stopped his job.

He refused to become involved further and told the man he had no interest in being an accomplice to a crime.

"Maybe because he was running out of time, he finally admitted that he was a thief," he said.

"Surprisingly, he offered me a double payment to continue the job, but of course, I refused it."

As these locksmiths are dedicated to their occupation, knowingly facilitating a crime would feel like cheating.

Since there is no specific law governing the "do's" and "don'ts" in the business, it is common to for duplicate key-makers to be selective with their customers.

Suratman, another duplicate key-maker in Pasar Minggu, shared how such an attitude had helped him to stay away from problems for the past thirteen years.

Rule number one, he said, was only duplicating keys from their original ones.

"I always say *No' to a customer who asks me to make a duplicate key according to a drawing or a mold in a bar of soap," he said.

"If they can sketch the drawing or make the mold, why don't they just bring the original one?"

Suratman, who started his business in 1996, said he had taught himself all the necessary key-duplicating skills.

Besides mastering how to make a duplicate key, he is also able to unlock various devices, including doors, motor vehicle ignitions, safety boxes and briefcases.

The father-of-two also harnesses a similar level of alertness when handling in-home orders.

"I have to be a bit suspicious when people ask me to leave no scratches when unlocking their doors or motor vehicles because technically it is impossible to do that when you have lost your key."

Learning from previous experience, Metrionis, who started his key-duplicating service five years ago, has also developed his own steps to avoid perilous customers.

"Now, if someone asks me to unlock their door, I will ask him or her to let me meet the community unit *RT* head or hansip *civilian defense officer* first, before starting the job," he said, giggling.

- JP/Hasyim Widhiarto

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