The Denpasar Police have arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly robbing a gas station in the city earlier this month, after CCTV footage of the incident circulated widely.
The suspect, identified by his initials INMW, was wearing a green jacket associated with Indonesia’s app-based motorcycle taxis (locally known as ojol) and pointed a gun at three women on Nov. 11.
A clip from the CCTV recording quickly went viral on platforms like Instagram, showing the culprit driving into the quiet gas station before pulling out his gun and pointing it at the women, who fled the scene while the culprit grabbed a purse that was placed nearby and then driving off to escape.
Denpasar Police Chief Jansen Avitus Panjaitan said authorities suspected that he was not actually an ojol driver and said that the gun he used was fake.
INMW, who is unemployed, reportedly told the police that he wanted to steal money from the gas station, but instead took a bag containing a mobile phone that belonged to one staff member.
“He thought it was a bag full of money, as he intended to steal from the gas station. But it wasn’t,” Jansen said.
As for the ojol uniform, police said he borrowed the jacket from a friend, adding that he was driven to do the crime due to his financial situation amid the pandemic.
Under Indonesia’s criminal code, theft is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
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