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Big bucks fly away: Passenger loses bird worth Rp 150 m on Garuda Indonesia flight
The now-lost oriental magpie-robin had been trained for four years until it won a number of chirping competitions.
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Illustration of an oriental magpie-robin. (tribunnews.com/HO)
A
passenger of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Rendy Lesmana, said he lost a bird worth Rp 150 million (US$10,718) on his flight from Jakarta to Pontianak in West Kalimantan.
The bird, which was a kacer (oriental magpie-robin), had been placed in a cage that was checked in for his flight bound for his hometown after taking the bird to participate in a chirping competition in the capital.
Rendy had with him a total of eight birds locked in six birdcages comprising two oriental magpie-robins, three white-rumped shamas and three love birds.
“The plane departed at 6:15 p.m. Jakarta time and [after] it landed at 8 p.m. Pontianak time, I walked to the baggage claim area,” Rendy said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.
When he checked on the cages, Rendy realized that the cage in which the oriental magpie- robin had been placed was damaged and empty.
He deplored the incident and said that he had fulfilled all requirements for carrying living animals as in accordance with the airline’s procedures. Rendy said he had even paid Rp 3.5 million for the service.
“I didn’t want the birds to get stressed because they were to compete in a national competition. That was why I didn’t transport them using a cargo service. I wanted to maintain their stamina,” he explained.
Rendy went on to say that he had taken care of and trained the now-lost oriental magpie- robin for four years until it won a number of chirping competitions.
He recalled that someone had once offered to buy the bird for Rp 150 million but Rendy declined the offer because the bird was very precious to him. “I’ve suffered more immaterial loss in this case because I love the bird so dearly.”
Rendy said he planned to immediately return to Jakarta and file a report with the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport police in Tangerang, Banten, as well as with Garuda Indonesia management.
Separately, Garuda Indonesia’s station manager at Supadio Pontianak International Airport, Isman Kamanjaya, confirmed the incident and said the airport police had organized mediation between the airline and Rendy.
“The mediation did not end with an agreement,” Isman told the press ,“Rendy refused to make peace and decided to file a report [with the police]. That is all.” (vla)
