Angry mob attacks government office

TANGERANG (JP): Dozens of local public transit drivers destroyed the offices of the Tangerang Revenue Office in front of the Karawaci-Kebon Jeruk exit tollgate on Jl. Karawaci Raya here yesterday morning.

All six of the on-duty officers managed to escape unharmed.

On Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of the drivers parked their minibuses in the middle of the nearby Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya presenting grievances. They demanded that the authorities close the new post, prohibit trucks and other heavy-weight vehicles from plying the Jl. Kelapa Dua Raya and Jl. Bojong Nangka Raya roads and immediately take action against trucks loading and unloading sand everyday along the sides of the roads.

They claimed these three factors were the cause of congestion and damage to the roads.

"We're tired of staging protests without any significant results. We decided to demolish this post to let the authorities, especially the Tangerang mayor, know that we're not just fooling around about what we and local residents want," a protester, whose name was withheld, told The Jakarta Post.

On Tuesday evening, the drivers were involved in a clash with a truck driver who entered the forbidden roads.

Truck drivers will often enter the "off-limits" roads because they are given tacit approvals by officers at another Revenue Office post on Jl. Bojong Nangka. It is alleged that those officers receive Rp 2,000 (US 93 cents) or more in bribes per trip.

After destroying the post near the tollgate yesterday, the protesters marched in a long line with their minibuses to bring their complaints to the Tangerang council. (bsr)