57 apprehended in riot-hit areas

JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested at least 57 people suspected of looting shops and robbing bystanders during Saturday's unrest in the city.

Residents of the capital took to the streets on Saturday in a show of anger directed at the police and the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), whom they accused of shooting at protesters during clashes on the previous day.

Jakarta Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang said only those caught red-handed had been arrested.

"Of the 57 people in custody, 48 were caught looting and the remaining nine were extortionists," he said on Sunday.

The suspected looters were rounded up at a number of trouble spots, including a shop-house complex in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, and a department store in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

The first 44 arrests were made inside three banks in the Cengkareng shop-house complex, he said.

The banks were branch offices of BCA, Bank Buana and Bank Exim, he added.

"Police confiscated several sharp weapons and iron bars from the suspects," Aritonang said, adding that computers, calculators and cash had been seized as evidence.

ATMs

A number of automated teller machines were damaged in the mayhem, he said.

Two men accused of attempting to extort money from onlookers were also arrested at the site, he said.

Six looters were also apprehended in a department store in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, Aritonang said.

Police seized two television sets, two mountain bikes, cash totaling Rp 275.000 (US$34) and several items of gold jewelry as evidence.

Nine men were arrested for attempting to extort money from passersby in Semanggi and Cengkareng, Aritonang added.

He said he did not know if the arrested people belonged to a well-organized group.

"At the moment, we're going to concentrate on the criminal offenses and we have yet to go any further," the officer said.

"We'll investigate their motives in due course, but in the meantime we can only lay criminal charges against them for looting and extortion.

"Whether or not they are organized, we haven't checked that yet," he said.

The suspects are being detained at city police headquarters, and at the police precincts in West and North Jakarta.

Police have yet to arrest anyone in connection with the holdups reported on several of the capital's toll roads on Saturday. (emf)