[DageDage]

Dashcam catches robbers attempting to pull key from moving motorcycle on S. Jakarta road

A video purporting to show a pair of thieves attempting to steal the keys out of a moving motorcycle in South Jakarta has raised concerns about what may be a brazen new method of robbery, but authorities say they are still investigating the clip’s authenticity.

In the video, taken on Wednesday, a motorcyclist named Reza Akum was driving in front of Gandaria City mall with a dashcam camera pointed at him when two motorcycle robbers (commonly referred to as begal in Indonesia) drove up on his right and one of them attempted to grab Reza’s motorcycle key and pull it from the ignition.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Please be careful when you’re riding late at night, because I just experienced a robbery at 1am today near Gandaria City. Alhamdulillah (praise God) I could get away. There were five suspects with two motorcycles, as seen clearly in the camera [sic],” Reza wrote in the post’s caption.

Reza’s video has been viewed almost 1.5 million times as of this afternoon, with many netizens using the video to caution others when driving, particularly late at night.

The Jakarta Metro Police are currently investigating the video, and says they’re open to any and all possibilities related to the incident, including the chance that it could have been staged to make the viral video.

“We have contacted the [owner of the Instagram] account but there are no answers yet,” Jakarta Metro Police Spokesperson Argo Yuwono told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Detik.

Argo also urged Jakartans not to be concerned over viral content about street crime in the capital, saying that police routinely patrol Jakarta and surrounding areas, including late at night. He added that much of the information that gets circulated online — not necessarily Reza’s video — is old recycled content used to spread fear among the public.

“Jakarta’s safety is under control, and the public should not worry about going about their activities. No scary incidents. We are ready to keep the city safe,” Argo said, as quoted by Kompas.

While the police may be playing down of the incident, it’s never a bad idea to be cautious of crime when on Jakarta’s roads, where robberies do happen regularly (if rarely violently). At any rate, Reza may get the chance to prove he wasn’t lying as his latest post on Instagram today suggests he’s reporting the attempted robbery to the South Jakarta Police.