Crime doesn’t pay. No honour among thieves.
Both of the idioms above perfectly describe a viral case that caught the attention of netizens recently, involving a motorcycle thief in Riau province, Indonesia.
Get this, the thief, 22-year-old Martogi Sinaga, was revealed to have taken a short nap at a mosque after he ran away with a motorcycle that he had stolen. When he woke up, he found the stolen vehicle had been stolen by another thief!
Indonesian police managed to hunt down a motorcycle thief who fled some 600km away
For illustration purposes
As reported by Kompas, Martogi had stolen a Kawasaki KLX 150cc at the Peranap subdistrict of the Indragiri Hulu regency in Riau province on 28 April 2024 while it was parked at a warung.
The owner then reported the theft to the local police. After investigations, the police identified the suspect as an individual from Serdang Bedagai regency of North Sumatra province, which is over 600km away from where the theft took place.
The police believed that the suspect had fled to his hometown using the stolen motorcycle.
The two provincial police departments then collaborated to apprehend the suspect, who was arrested at a night market in Serdang Bedagai regency in North Sumatra province on 7 May 2025.
However, the police found that the stolen motorcycle was not in the suspect’s possession.
The stolen motorcycle was stolen by another thief while the suspect was sleeping at a mosque
During interrogation, Martogi confessed to stealing the motorcycle, but revealed that he lost the vehicle while on the way to North Sumatra.
On the way, he had stopped at a mosque in Aek Kanopan subdistrict to rest and had taken a nap there. However, when he woke up, he found that the stolen motorcycle had been stolen by another thief while it was parked at the mosque.
Nevertheless, Martogi is still facing legal repercussions for his criminal act. As for the stolen motorcycle that was stolen by another thief, the police are still tracing it.
So, what do you guys think of the case? Do share your thoughts with us in the comments.
