Crimes on outskirts not serious: Hamami

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata denied allegations that crime on the outskirts of Jakarta has reached an alarming level.

"The situation is not as bad as many newspapers have reported. It seems to me the press tend to exaggerate things," he told House of Representatives Commission III for law in a hearing on Wednesday.

House member Sabar Kumbino asked if the spate of crimes in Bekasi, for instance, was deliberately engineered by land speculators to frighten the victims away from the area.

"If such is the case, certain parties could buy the land deserted by the villagers at a lower price," he reasoned.

Judging from newspaper reports, he deduced that security in Bekasi is so pitiful that villagers live in great fear.

Sabar said Bekasi has been rocked by a series of violent crimes, including rape and robbery, since the gang rape and robbery at the Acan house last March. Eleven men raped two teenage girls before robbing Acan.

Police managed to arrest the rapists. They were sentenced to between five and 14 years in prison.

The latest crime, on June 7, involved seven thieves robbing several houses in Cibarusah and Serang. They made off with a total of Rp 1.4 million in cash and 70 grams of gold.

The gang's first victim was Asep, a soybean-cake factory worker in Cibarusah. Before stealing Rp 1.2 million in cash and 35 grams of jewelry, five of the seven robbers allegedly raped Asep's wife in front of the bound Asep and his daughter.

Hamami dismissed allegations that the crimes spate was engineered, but promised to investigate the charge.

He said many crimes in Bekasi take place in remote or secluded areas.

Handoyo Putro, from the Indonesian Democratic Party faction, blamed rapid development for the growing number of crimes in Bekasi.

"Bekasi has grown into an industrial town where factories are sprouting. And this is one factor that has made Bekasi prone to criminal acts," he asserted.(16/bas)