Civilians rewarded for helping police arrest criminals
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)