Councillor beats journalist

Councillor beats journalist

TEGAL, Central Java: Hardjo Rasdi, a senior legislator in the
Central Java town of Tegal, has come under fire for attacking a
local journalist who covered his alleged love affair with a
university student.

Nur Ikhsan, a 27-year-old reporter for the Kriminal (crime)
weekly tabloid, was treated at a local hospital for injuries
caused by the beating, which took place on Friday.

The victim reported the episode to the local police and the
Tegal branch of the Indonesian Journalists' Association (PWI).
PWI members condemned the attack, and demanded that police take
firm action against Hardjo.

Hardjo, commission D chairman of the Tegal legislative
council, was reportedly incensed by an article by Ikhsan on the
legislator's affair with a female student.

The story identified the woman only as Yun, and said that the
liaison took place at a hotel in Purwokerto regency, where the
unmarried couple reportedly stayed for three days.

He invited Ikhsan to come to his working room, where the
legislator slapped his face, and threatened to kill him.

"I told Pak Hardjo that what was published in my tabloid was
based on facts and confirmations -- including himself. Still, he
threatened to finish me off," Ikhsan said on Saturday.

Yun's mother, a relative of Hardjo's wife, also reported the
case to the local police, demanding that the legislator be held
on assault charges. --JP