KUALA LUMPUR – Disaster struck the Indonesian badminton team at the Paris Olympics when nearly 1 billion rupiah (about RM277,000) vanished without a trace.
The Indonesian badminton team manager Armand Darmadji became a victim of theft on Monday afternoon (local time). The perpetrators are suspected to be a syndicate using a flat tyre modus operandi.
According to Armand, his stolen bag contained 53,000 euros in cash, approximately 950 million rupiahs. His wallet containing credit cards, ID, driving licence, and passport were also taken.
The money belonged to several members of the badminton team, totalling 53 people, including athletes and officials. Armand has reported the incident to the local police.
“This money was a collection from several people; we were tallying it up as the team was scheduled to return home tomorrow.
“We planned to meet the team at 7pm, but the money was stolen on the way,” Armand was quoted telling Indonesian news portal detikSport and two other media outlets at the Indonesian Embassy in Paris.
Recounting the whole incident, Armand said his colleague, Shendy, informed him that the rear tyre of their car was flat.
Upon inspection of the flat tyre, Armand contacted the car rental company for a replacement. The rental company asked for their location.
Since there were police officers behind the car at the time, Armand asked the police to explain their location.
Upon returning to the car, Armand found his bag had disappeared.
“When I got back, the bag was gone. It contained my passport, wallet, credit cards, and PBSI’s money. I have reported it to the police,” Armand explained.
This isn’t the first theft incident at the Paris Olympics. Previously, it was learnt that the Argentinian national football team suffered a similar fate.
A day before Argentina’s first match against Morocco, the stadium where they trained was broken into and items were stolen.
Additionally, the athletes’ village in Paris hasn’t been spared from theft cases.
According to Newsweek, at least five theft complaints had been filed by the end of July. One involved a Japanese rugby athlete who lost his wedding ring, necklace, and cash.
Another incident involved the Australian national hockey team coach, who reported a stolen credit card that was subsequently misused. – August 6, 2024