Army members allegedly behind eviction

BOGOR (JP): Five Army personnel, one of them a captain, allegedly supported a land broker to demolish a house and evict its 85-year-old lady owner named Arsih on Saturday afternoon in Kampung Comblong, Megamendung district, here.

Locals alleged they felt threatened by the group's leader, Capt. Ferdinand of the Cilodong-based Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), who carried a gun to his waist, when they tried to stop the five men from dismantling Arsih's house.

Looking for protection, some 53 residents then signed reports on the incident and passed them on to the authorities on Tuesday.

The reports said that local residents had helped the old lady, who is deaf, and two of her widowed daughters, Endah, 40 and Yayah, 35, who also have four children to care for, by building them a house.

"She didn't have a house. So we built a semipermanent house for Arsih and her children on a former plot in the South Cikopo plantation, which was an abandoned state property.

"The house, measuring six meters by 7.5 meters was completed in December last year. It was financed by funds of Rp 5 million we collected together," the report said.

The reports allege that on Saturday at around 4:30 p.m. Mansyur, the land broker, and five men dressed in military uniforms arrived at the property and evicted the old lady.

The group also tore down the house, saying that the plot belonged to Mansyur.

"Locals couldn't do much as Ferdinand was armed with a gun," said a witness.

Bogor Military Police deputy Maj. Tatang S. confirmed the report on Tuesday, adding that he had ordered an investigation into the case.

"Following the report, I've ordered First Lt. Sugito of the Crime Investigation Unit to check on the site of the incident in Cisarua and the Cilodong-based Kostrad headquarters," Tatang said.

"We haven't got the results, but to investigate the matter thoroughly we have to check on the commander of the personnel involved.

"Whatever the reason may be, a military member cannot interfere with civilian businesses, especially taking the law into their own hands by demolishing houses and evicting old women.

"If this is true, they will be court martialled," he added. (21/edt)