Demolition starts in Pejompongan

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty-seven of the 32 brothels in the illegal Pejompongan Indah prostitution complex, Central Jakarta, were demolished yesterday to make way for new apartment building.

The head of Bendungan Hilir subdistrict, Yamin Abdullah said the buildings were sealed off by the authorities since March.

The owners agreed to compensation from the administration of between Rp 300,000 to Rp 900,000 per square meter, he said.

The compensation money was paid to them last month and most of the brothels operators owned 100 square meters of land.

Yamin said five brothel operators had yet to accept the offer, even though they had stopped operating their businesses.

"We have the right and power to demolish the five buildings whenever we want. But we prefer use a friendly approach for the time being," Yamin said. (04)