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One (bad) way to beat the clock: Fireman nabbed for jacking fire truck
The North Jakarta Police have arrested an off-duty firefighter for stealing a fire truck – allegedly so he could get to work on time.
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Fire trucks are parked at the Tanah Abang fire station in Central Jakarta, in this undated file photo. (kompas.com/Ardito Ramadhan D)
A
n off-duty firefighter has been arrested for allegedly stealing a fire truck belonging to the North Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The fireman, Januar Darman, 36, works for the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency.
Januar reportedly "borrowed" the truck from the North Jakarta fire department when his motorcycle broke down as he was rushing to make roll call at the West Jakarta fire station. He said he had no bad intentions.
The incident began when two North Jakarta firefighters left the truck, which was under maintenance, running in the station's parking lot, said North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Budhi Herdi Susianto in a kompas.com report. When the pair returned, the truck was nowhere to be found.
The firefighters reported the stolen vehicle to the Tanjung Priok Police, and were later told that the truck had been recovered in Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta.
The North Jakarta Police arrested Januar when they discovered him with the missing truck.
Budhi added that the suspect was not in uniform, and was wearing a shirt and casual shorts at the time of his arrest.
“It's okay to clock in at the station out of uniform,” Januar said. “I put on my uniform for roll call at 7:30 a.m.”
When asked why he had not taken another form of transportation to get to work, Januar replied, “It didn't come to mind.”
Witnesses say they had spotted Januar lurking around the North Jakarta fire station since 4 a.m.
Januar has been charged under Article 365 of the Criminal Code, and could face up to five years in prison. (eyc)
