118 tried for petty offenses

TANGERANG: After spending a night in the Tangerang Police detention cell, as many as 118 people netted in several raids on Tuesday evening were tried at the Tangerang District Court on Wednesday for a variety of misdemeanors.

The people; street musicians, scalpers, pak ogah (people who direct traffic and take money from motorists passing U-turns or intersections), and hoodlums, said Tangerang Police deputy chief Adj. Comr. Anan Suhanan, were disturbing public order.

During the trial, Judge Permadi S.W. said the people were proven guilty of violating Bylaw No. 23/2002 on public order and ordered them to pay a fine of Rp 20,000 (US$2.35) each.

Rudy of Cimone subdistrict said he had to borrow from a friend to pay the fine.

"It's better to be in debt than to spend more time in police detention," said Rudy, the self-appointed traffic warden, who usually operates at the Cimone bus terminal. -- JP