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outh Tangerang has been hit by a spate of smash-and-grab robberies of parked cars in the past three months.

Nito Waruwu, a 20-year-old West Jakarta resident, drove his car to Pamulang in South Tangerang to teach English to a student he was tutoring on the evening of Feb. 12. He parked his car right in front of his student’s gate and as he was teaching he heard a loud thud outside the house.

“After the thud, there was the sound of a motorcycle revving. I was not really suspicious when I heard those noises. I thought it was just some teenagers playing around on their motorcycle,” Nito said.

Later, however, he found his car had been broken into. The rear left window had been almost completely smashed in.

“I thought nothing had been taken from my car, until one of my relatives later said that a bag with a camera and video recorder he had previously put on the backseat were missing,” Nito said.

Nito is only one of several victims of the crime spree as another local resident became a victim of a similar crime two weeks ago. She lost her laptop and several bags in the incident.

“I heard a loud thud and thought a package had been thrown in by a courier. I was not suspicious at the time,” said Mahmudatus Shofiyah, 28. “As I went outside to get my car ready, I realized that my rear window had been broken.”

She said that she and her husband had noticed several unknown people examining her car a few days prior to the incident. At that time, and at the time of the break-in, the car was parked outside the gate.

In response to the crime spree, the police have taken preventive measures by increasing patrols in certain areas at night. “The suspects have been targeting random places. We have been focusing our patrols in several on-street parking spaces since the suspects seem to have targeted these places,” said South Tangerang Police chief Comr. Ayi Supardan.

According to reports, South Tangerang Police officers arrested two suspects allegedly in the act of breaking into a car last month. Two others fled the scene before police officers could apprehend them. The police believe that this group of four had committed approximately six such crimes in South Tangerang this year.

Although the police have apprehended these suspects, Ayi warned people to take more care and be aware about the safety of themselves and their belongings.

“Do not leave bags or other valuables in your car. People should park their cars in safe parking spaces,” Ayi said, as the suspects targeted cars parked in poorly protected spots.

He also advised that people should call or approach nearby police officers if they felt they were in a threatening situation. (kkk)