70 students held for bus hijacking

TANGERANG (JP): Seventy high school students were rounded up for their alleged involvement in the hijacking of an inter-city Arimby bus to attack students from another school, an official said.

An officer of the Tangerang police precinct Capt. Sigit Listyono said that the round-up was made to enable the police to record their identities before returning them to their parents.

"The release was effected after they signed statements that they will never be involved in student brawls again," Sigit said.

The hijacking was carried out by dozens of students from private high schools SMU PGRI in Tangerang and SMK Poncol in Central Jakarta at the Cikokol bus terminal.

Witnesses said the students halted the Arimbi bus, which was plying the Kalideres-Merak route, and ordered the driver to drop them at state-run high school SMK Negeri 80 in Kalideres, West Jakarta.

The Arimbi bus driver, Mustofa, said that he was surprised as he never thought that the students would carry out the illegal act.

"They just broke the bus doors, scared away my passengers and intimidated me into taking them to that school," he said.

When the bus was approaching the school, it was stoned by rival students. The side windows were reportedly damaged.

The brawl stopped only after police officers arrived to quell the commotion. (41/emf)