We know what happens to robbers in Jakarta when they’re caught. More often than not, they get beaten up by an angry mob, or in one horrific case, burned alive. But that didn’t deter two criminals from Bekasi from attempting a daring daylight robbery.
Muhammad Ridwan, a 56-year-old businessman, had just withdrawn Rp 45 million yesterday afternoon. As he was driving his car, a man on a motorcycle signaled to Muhammad that his car had a flat tire.
Muhammad knew that this was a common scheme enacted by robbers to get drivers to stop their car, after which they’d rob the driver of their belongings. So Muhammad thought of a plan to stop the car safely.
“I stopped at a crowded area (in front of a market) so I wouldn’t become a victim of robbery,” Muhammad said, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
Muhammad then got out of the car to check his tires, not forgetting to lock the doors. Even so, the two robbers appeared out of nowhere to smash the car’s window and grab the bag containing Muhammad’s Rp 45 million in cash.
“They were carrying axes and then they just ran away,” Muhammad said.
The Bekasi Police are currently hunting down the two robbers.
If there’s a lesson we can take from this incident, it’s that you should probably just keep driving when a motorcyclist signals to you that you have a flat tire, even if you’re in a crowded area. Or, better yet, stop your car near a police station. Let’s see if there are any robbers daring or stupid enough to rob you then.
