Angry guards wreck cafes they once protected

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty men hired to guard 170 street cafes in the National Monument (Monas) Park, Central Jakarta, looted and damaged the properties under their care after they were not given an Idul Fitri bonus, an officer said on Friday.

Maj. Budiono Sandi from the Central Jakarta Police said that the owners of at least 150 street cafes, most of whom are local television and movie stars, had reported the incident.

Budiono said that police had yet to make any arrests in connection with the incident, which took place on Sunday.

He said the guards were hired by the company which manages the site.

"We visited the management company's office, but the chairman was not there," he added.

The guards damaged many of the cafes and stole items of value including dishes, glasses, tables and chairs, the officer said.

He said that most of the trouble took place on Sunday, but added that somebody had set fire to a cafe owned by movie star Roy Marten on Thursday evening.

Television actor Mark Sungkar said the site was managed by the Indonesian Artists Cooperative, which is chaired by businessman Amijaya.

He said that Amijaya had recruited at least 20 men, mostly local hoodlums, to guard the area.

"A guard named Slamet telephoned Roy Marten on Sunday morning to tell him that he was no longer responsible for security on the site because Amijaya had not paid the guards an Idul Fitri bonus," he said.

On the following day, Roy found his cafe had been looted, Mark added.

It remains unclear why Slamet only warned Roy and why only Roy's cafe was set on fire.

Mark expressed disappointment that Roy and Amijaya had not warned the other proprietors of the problem with the security guards.

"It seems they knew the site would be looted," he told the media on Friday.

Mark and his wife, actor Fenny Bauty, run two cafes at the site. He said his cafes had suffered damage worth Rp 10 million (US$1,333).

All street cafe owners are required to pay the site manager Rp 5,000 per day for security.

"We also gave the site manager 15 percent of our daily takings," Mark said.

The Idul Fitri holiday prevented the proprietors of cafes damaged in the incident from reporting the matter to police until Friday, he added.

The street cafes in Monas park were set up on Aug. 22. last year and inaugurated by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

Sluggish business over the last two months has meant that the once crowded cafes now open only on Saturday nights. (jun)