Image: brilio.net/Irwan Khoiruddin
A neighborhood in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta has a unique and unusual strategy to catch a thief.
Residents ofWarungboto sub-district holda contest where they would give Rp 1,000,000 and furniture to anyone thatcan catch a thief redhandedly and provide the supporting evidence.
The idea came after the residents realized that they often get robbed.They announced the 'competition' on big yellow banners in every corner of the area. The banners have been put up for almost a month.
Image: brilio.net/Irwan Khoiruddin
The deputy head of the RT 24 neighborhood Endang Suprapto said the idea is a manifestation of the residents' resentment towards theftin their area.
The idea is purely theirs as thisarea has been robbed often. It has been more than nine times thieves haverobbed us," he said
Image: brilio.net
The thieves stole phones, [and] laptops from students living in boarding houses. We know it's not easy to catch a thief, so we started this contest."
Suprapto said after they set the banners, people feel safer as there has been no robbery happening recently.
The banner works like a therapy. Thieves do not dare to come back here. Maybe because they think it is scary to get into the area,he said.
The residentshave coordinated with local police for the contest.
Police know that there is a thief contest in this neighborhood and they are still working on finding out who robbed us.
(brl/red)
