AT a glance, no one would suspect A Ming of being a criminal. With a pair of glasses perched atop his nose, this 175-centimeter-tall man looks more like a successful businessman instead of a gambler, let alone a kidnapper.

A Ming was born in Medan, North Sumatra, on January 9, 1968. He has spent 12 years in Jakarta. In the country’s capital, he started off as an electronic goods salesman, eventually opening his own store in Mangga Dua, We