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Guard allows theft of prison van, multiple collisions follow
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A prisoner transport van of the Depok Prosecutor’s Office is damaged after being hijacked by a detainee in Depok, West Java. (kompas.com/-)
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umerous cars were damaged on a Depok street on Thursday after the driver of a prison van apparently allowed a detainee in his charge to hijack the vehicle.
On Thursday afternoon, detainee Ari Wicaksono was being returned to the Depok District Court after completing a medical check-up at the police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.
The driver, Togar, allegedly left his charge unattended in the van, apparently with the ignition key, when he stopped for a moment to buy some drinks on Jl. Juanda. At that point, according to Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono as quoted by kompas.com, Ari somehow took control of the vehicle and drove off.
Argo claimed that when Togar shouted for help, Ari began to drive erratically. “He doubled backed and crossed the street,” Argo said.
Jl. Juanda was crowded that afternoon and when the van accelerated it bumped into several cars driving in the opposite direction.
“He has been arrested and is being investigated,” the chief of the Depok Police’s criminal unit, Comr. Teguh Nugroho, said referring to Ari, who is a defendant in a case involving land certificate fraud.
People whose cars were damaged in the incident have demanded that the Depok Prosecutor’s Office, as the owner of the van, pay them compensation.
Maemunah, 47, whose car was heavily damaged by one of the collisions, said she would insist on compensation from the prosecutor’s office.
“I waited for officials from the prosecutor’s office [to deal with the damages] at the Depok Police until 11 p.m., but no one appeared,” she said. (hol)
