Rise in crime scares the city<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The capital witnessed just another ordinary day
\non Friday in the midst of fresh rumors of looming disturbances.<\/p>\n
No serious incidents or clashes were reported. In several
\nparts of the city, a number of university and high school
\nstudents packed the streets to continue their week-long anti-
\nSoeharto protests.<\/p>\n
Although many Jakartans could still go about their daily
\nactivities as usual, some others were still unable to get rid of
\nthe fear that has been sparked by the escalating number of crimes
\nhere in the past few weeks.<\/p>\n
Robberies, looting and extortion have been reported almost
\neverywhere -- from houses, street junctions, public buses, taxis,
\nstreets to toll roads.<\/p>\n
Worst, none of the city's 15,000 or so police officers could
\nbe seen at hand to help the defenseless victims in dealing with
\nthe crooks, who mostly work in groups and are armed with sharp
\nweapons, iron bars and rocks.<\/p>\n
So far, none of the responsible parties, such as operators of
\nthe taxi companies and toll roads, have been willing to pay
\ncompensation, explain or -- at least -- ask for forgiveness from
\nthe victims.<\/p>\n
For instance, none of the toll road operator PT Jasa Marga's
\nexecutives, including spokesman David Wijayanto, could be reached
\non Friday to comment on the series of hold-ups of motorists on
\nthe toll roads during the Nov. 22 riot.<\/p>\n
On that day, armed mobs suddenly took over parts of the toll
\nroads in Cawang, Tanjung Priok and Tangerang, forcing motorists
\nto stop and hand over their belongings. Those who refused to meet
\ntheir demands had their cars damaged.<\/p>\n
The victims strongly condemned Jasa Marga, which collects
\nhundreds of millions of rupiah per day from toll road fares, as
\nit did nothing to halt the brutal attacks on its users.<\/p>\n
"I don't know where the toll road personnel were at that time.
\nMy question is why they allowed us to get on to the toll road and
\ncollected our money but did nothing to secure us?" female
\nemployee Ika told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
During the Nov. 22 fray, Ika and her husband lost nothing but
\ntheir brand new Kijang minivan was marked with several light
\nscratches on the body after they were asked to stop by a group of
\n15 people on the Tanjung Priok toll road. Instead of reducing
\nspeed, her husband, she recalled, sped the vehicle up, making the
\narmed mob jump in different directions.<\/p>\n
One of the victims, Nathani Vijay Manekchand of Bandung wrote
\nto the Post that he, his female employee and driver had had to
\ngive all their belongings, including a gold chain, a trouser belt
\nand a shirt, to a group on the same toll road.<\/p>\n
"This sorry affair was closely watched by two towing vehicles
\nabout 50 meters ahead," he said.<\/p>\n
Last night, a doctor received severe stab wounds after being
\nattacked by a group of men in Cawang, East Jakarta. The men had
\ntold him a relative of their's was ill and required emergency
\nmedical attention. The doctor's car was stolen by the gang. He is
\nstill in a critical condition in St. Carolus hospital in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Promises, promises<\/p>\n
As usual -- after these events were widely reported by the
\nmedia -- Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman on
\nFriday finally pledged "to intensify security" in some areas
\nprone to robberies of motorists and car drivers.<\/p>\n
He admitted that the number of robberies on street junctions,
\npublic vehicles and toll roads in the capital has seen a
\nsignificant increase.<\/p>\n
"The current situation in some parts of Jakarta draws my deep
\nconcern. But the number of bad guys is always bigger than the
\ngood ones," Noegroho told reporters.<\/p>\n
According to Noegroho, the city police are now recording an
\naverage of three to four street robberies per day.<\/p>\n
In the past few weeks, the media had reported a number of
\nstreet crimes of types which had rarely happened before.<\/p>\n
For example, a group of senior high school students in their
\nuniforms in the Bungur area of Central Jakarta recently took over
\na public bus and forced all the adult passengers to give up their
\nbelongings.<\/p>\n
In the routine heavy traffic of Grogol in West Jakarta, five
\nmen armed with knives approached a Mercedes Benz and took the
\nvehicle's rear view mirrors away.<\/p>\n
A housewife also wrote that her teenage son and his friend had
\nto hand over all their bags, wristwatches and caps to a group of
\n15 extortionists of their own age attired in junior high school
\nuniforms.<\/p>\n
A number of expatriates and locals have even been robbed,
\nabducted and subjected to extortion by taxi drivers working
\ntogether with accomplices in well-planned robberies.<\/p>\n
Among the latest street crimes were the two taxi robberies
\nthat occurred in the early hours of Friday in Klender, East
\nJakarta and on the Bekasi toll road.<\/p>\n
As in many other cases, none of the suspected crooks were
\narrested by the police. (bsr\/emf\/prb)<\/p>",
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