Man in Pesanggrahan Arrested After Stealing from Charity Box While Pretending to Pray
A man with the initials AK was caught by residents in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, after stealing money from a prayer room's charity box. He used the tactic of pretending to perform the Asar prayer to deceive worshippers.
South Jakarta Metro Police public relations officer, AKP Joko Adi, explained that the suspect took advantage of the prayer room being quiet before Maghrib to open the charity box using a key. The act was caught on CCTV and happened at the As-Syukur Prayer Room on Monday (5/18/2026) around 4:45 PM Western Indonesia Time.
From the investigation, police found the suspect also operated at the Nurul Fajri Prayer Room in South Petukangan and the Nurul Hikmah Prayer Room in North Petukangan, as well as several prayer rooms in Ciledug, Tangerang City. The total money stolen amounted to millions of rupiah, including Rp750,000 at the As-Syukur Prayer Room, Rp500,000 at the Nurul Fajri Prayer Room, and Rp400,000 at the Nurul Hikmah Prayer Room. Police suspect economic motives drove the suspect to commit theft.
Police are urging mosque and prayer room administrators to increase vigilance regarding the security of places of worship.
https://www.gelora.co/2026/05/