Civilians rewarded for helping police arrest criminals
JAKARTA (JP): City police honored three civilians on Monday for helping law enforcement officers catch criminals in the capital.
Awards of certificates and Rp 125,000 (US$17) cash each were presented by Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman in an official ceremony in conjunction with the 49th anniversary of the city police.
Honored were Suherman of Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, Dede of Grogol, also in West Jakarta, and Herman Sumarhaen, a member of the Serpong fire department in Tangerang.
According to the police, Suherman and Herman respectively succeeded in immobilizing motorcycle thieves, and Dede overcame an alleged extorter on Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta.
Noegroho also handed over certificates and cash in honor of three police officers who died in the line of duty and 10 others wounded while safeguarding various sites for last month's Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.
Families of the dead officers each received Rp 2 million donations and the injured were presented with the same amount as the three civilians honored.
Names of the officers were not disclosed.
After the ceremony, Noegroho made an impromptu tour of the Assembly building to visit military personnel still deployed to prevent protesters from marching to the compound.
Noegroho handed out lunch boxes and joined the soldiers in eating the meal under the Taman Ria Senayan flyover.
Street crime
Meanwhile, the city security authorities, apparently trying to play catch-up in response to the public outcry against soaring crime, have rounded up 172 people living and working on the streets in the past month.
Toha Reno, head of the city's public order division for entertainment establishments, identified them on Monday as 17 psychotics, 60 beggars, 22 prostitutes, 34 three-in-one jockeys, 26 teenage street vendors, eight street singers and five windshield cleaners.
"All of them are aged between five and 40," he said.
The people are undergoing rehabilitation, including receiving medication if necessary and skills training, at centers of Panti Karya Sosial Kedoya in West Jakarta, Panti Sosial III Pondok Bambu in East Jakarta and Panti Karya Sosial, Cipayung.
A joint team of police, military and personnel from the public order office worked on rounding up the people, he said.
The city has continued its operation against entertainment spots believed to have violated regulations, also the subject of recent public complaints.
In the first week of December, the public order office temporarily closed down seven establishments, including two game halls in Sunter, North Jakarta, and three massage parlors and a steam bath in the Lokasari complex in West Jakarta.
Dozens of other sites were closed by the city administration last month following the Nov. 22 riot which was ignited after a clash between residents and guards of a local amusement center in Ketapang, West Jakarta.
According to Toha Reno, the raids have put 20,000 people, including 6,000 masseuses, out of work.
Some of the jobless masseuses have threatened to strip in protest at City Hall on Wednesday.
"The Association of Massage Parlor Owners sent a letter to the public order office (about the rally). But I don't think it's going to happen," Toha said.
The city is home to 432 licensed massage parlors offering services such as traditional massage, shiatsu and fitness facilities.
It is an open secret that sexual services are also available at many of the establishments. (emf/ylt)