Two Orientals Kidnapped; Family Keeping Quiet
The División de Secuestros de la Sección de Delitos Varios del Organismo de Investigación Judicial (Kidnapping Division of the OIJ) are investigating the kidnapping of two orientals, two men identified only by their last names, Wuu and Yung, who have no connection other than being kidnapped by the same group.

Yung was the first to be taken hostage, when last Tuesday night he was leaving a restaurant in Aserrí, south of San José, when several men forced him into a car. The same thing happened to Wuu on Thursday, when was leaving a small grocery store in Santa Catalina in Pavas, west of San José.

Both men were seen taken into a red car. Both families received telephone calls from the kidnappers, who are asking for large of amounts of money - "sumas millionarias".

In the case of Wuu, police sources say the amount is between us$60.000 and us$100.000, while in the Yung case, the amount asked by the kidnappers has not been revealed.

Police say their job is being hampered by family members who are refusing to make a formal complaint, wanting to keep them (the police) as far away from the crime as possible, preferring to negotiate with the criminals themselves and tying down the hands of investigators.

Police say that in most of the cases like this (involving Orientals), the kidnapping is due to debts owed, in most of the cases, involving gambling.  Given the family reaction, police believe there is a direct connection to gambling and that the two men had debts to settle with the kidnappers.

More than 90.000 Have Paid Their "Marchamo"
December in Costa Rica is a month of many things: the Aguinaldo, children end the school year, vacation at the beach, Christmas and the marchamo to name a few.

The marchamo is the annual fee that owners of all registered vehicles must pay to legally operate their vehicles on public streets in 2005.

The marchamo is a combination of taxes, fees for the various government agencies, including a contrinution to the rain forest and of course, any outstanding traffic fines registered agaisnt the vehicle and the obligatory state insurance.

As of Firday, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) who operates the collection of the fees and issuing of the marchamo sticker, says only 93.000 of the almost 700.000 vehicles registered have paid.

Traditionally, Ticos (Costa Ricans) leave the payment to the last minute and come the last week in December, the lines are long and the wait turns to hours, as everyone tries to beat the December 31 deadline.

In reality, the Transit police "unofficially" give a 15 day grace period before they start using a firm hand against those drivers and the vehicles without the current marchamo.

This year, as in the past couple of years, the marchamo can be paid at any bank and most insurance offices. Some banks are offering marchamo customers bonuses if they with them and the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) offers it's "Oficina Virtual" - online banking - customers to pay using the interent and for an additional $2 to have the marchamo sticker deliver to their home or office.

The cost of the marchamo depends on the make and year of the vehicle. For instance, the owner of a 1989 Jeep Cherokee will pay ¢36.621 colones (us$87.10), while the owner of a 2004 Peugeot will pay ¢215.511 colones (us$473.), while the owne of license plate number "1" - a 1944 Willys, will pay ¢190.254 colones (us$418.13.

To find out what you owe on your vehicle, go to the INS website or click here and enter the type of vehicle and license plate number and press "consultar". A detailed list of fees and charges are displayed. Or call by telephone at 800-627-2426.

 

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Banco Popular Recalls 25.00 Debit Cards The Banco Popular on Aveniga Segunda in downtown San José was the scene of a mad rush after the bank made the announcement to all it's customers with "debit cards" issued before 2002 and expiring n 2007, to visit their local branch to exchange them. It appears, that the bank's database was comprimised and the bank made the call to their 25.000 customers for the exchange to ensure no loss would occur. Gerardo Pórras, general manager of the bank, denied that the database was stolen. "It's only a rumour", the bank official told the press. Pórras explained that in September of this year, the bank issued new cards that were more secure and installed a new control system to better handle the information. However, some customers were not fully convinced and were concerned about their savings. The Banco Polular says it has 600.000 debit card customers and that only 25.000 of those cardholders were affected and needed to change their cards. In Costa Rica, all governmental offices and agencies, as well as major companies, pay their employees by direct deposit to one or more of the state banks: Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Banco Nacional (BNC), Banco Cerdito Agricola de Cartago (BCAC) and Banco Popular (Popular). Direct pay employees need to open an account with one of the bank - depending on the employer - and use a debit card at any one of the many ATM's to get access to their salaries. This is evidenced by long lines at ATM machines surrounding the 15ht and 30th of each month, as most salaries employees are paid twice monthly. The bank told customers there would be no cost to exchange the cards and can be done at any bank branch in the country. Jorge Rojas, director of the OIJ (Orgnaismo de Investigacion Judicial) said there were "at the moment" no complaints made by the bank or any customers regarding this situation. If you are a customer of the Banco Popular, you can contact them at (506) 258-2020 or online at: https://www.popularenlinea.fi.cr/bpop/espanol