208 deads bodies found in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Police recorded 208 bodies found on streets and other
\npublic places in Greater Jakarta during the first quarter of this
\nyear and about half of those remain unidentified.<\/p>\n
Although the police are assuming that the cause of most of
\nthese deaths were from natural causes such as illness, some of
\nthe bodies show evidence that they were victims of violence.<\/p>\n
In March, police recorded 82 bodies found, seven had open
\nwounds. The others were assumed to have died from some sort of
\nillness, by suicide or accidents like being hit by trains or
\ndrowning.<\/p>\n
Earlier in February, out of the 78 bodies found, seven were
\nsuspected to be murder victims, while 33 were assumed to have
\ndied from illness. About half of the total remained unidentified,
\npossibly suggesting they were homeless people.<\/p>\n
In January, 48 bodies were found and 12 of them had been
\nlisted as probable murder victims. Sixteen others likely died of
\nvarious ailments, while the rest have been called accidents or
\nsuicides.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Sunday
\nthat the police were continuing to investigate any that were
\nsuspicious, including the unidentified ones.<\/p>\n
\"Although they could have been, for example, homeless people,
\nwe will investigate. We usually send the bodies to the morgue,
\nand we pay for the autopsy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"If the autopsy results indicate murder, we will investigate
\nfurther.\"<\/p>\n
Separately, urban activist Wardah Hafidz told The Jakarta Post
\nthat the high number of bodies found suggested a weak social
\nsafety net in big cities -- either provided by the government or
\nthe community itself.<\/p>\n
\"People in cars in Jakarta look away if they see a stranger
\nlying on the street,\" she said. \"We no longer have a social
\nbond ... If an unidentified body is found somewhere in a country
\nvillage, it would cause a huge commotion; but here in Jakarta,
\ntwo or three strangers die on the street each day and people pay
\nno attention.\"<\/p>\n
However, she added that there was actually some sort of bond
\nsurviving among the homeless and urban poor in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The bond is like...I'll help you this time but you're
\nexpected to pay me back by helping me the next time,\" she said,
\nadding that even though the bond might sound weak, both homeless
\nand urban poor greatly depend on each other to survive in the big
\ncity.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/208-deads-bodies-found-in-jakarta-1447893297",
"image": ""
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