11 buildings to be demolished

11 buildings to be demolished

JAKARTA (JP): Municipal security and order officers will soon demolish 11 buildings at Kamal subdistrict in Kalideres, West Jakarta, after their owners ignored an order from the mayor to pull down the houses themselves.

H. Karsidin, head of the West Jakarta Security and Order Office, told reporters over the weekend that despite a number of orders from West Jakarta Mayor H. Soetardjianto, no action was taken by the residents.

Karsidin said the mayoralty decided to demolish the buildings because their construction deviated from their original objective: the buildings are no longer being used as residential sites but as brothels.

"Local residents have changed the function of their buildings without any permits," he said, reminding that residents intending to change the function of a building must get approval from the mayoralty.

Antara reported that the owners sent a letter to the mayor on April 27, demanding the postponement of the demolition. They insisted that no prostitution was taking place in the buildings in question. (31)