East Java Claimed to Remain Conducive After 2 Police Posts Hit by Molotov Cocktails
The A. Yani Margorejo Traffic Police Post and the Waru Roundabout Traffic Police Post in Surabaya were allegedly targeted with Molotov cocktails by an unknown person on Saturday night (15/8). Police have confirmed that the security and public order situation in East Java remains conducive following the incident.
Head of Public Relations of the East Java Regional Police, Commissioner Jules Abraham Abast, assured that the security situation in East Java remains safe and conducive. He said his party has strengthened personnel deployment at points considered prone to criminal disturbances.
“I can convey that the security and public order situation in East Java is confirmed to remain safe and conducive, and we have strengthened and increased personnel,” said Jules on Sunday (16/8).
Jules said his party is still confirming and investigating the alleged Molotov cocktail attacks at the two police posts. “We confirm that there were incidents at two locations, namely at Cito [Waru Roundabout Traffic Post] and Margorejo [Traffic Post]. So far, the information is true. However, no incident resulted in major damage,” he said.
When asked about the type of object allegedly thrown at the posts, Jules declined to speculate. He stressed that his party is still conducting an investigation. “I emphasise that regarding the type of object, this is still under investigation. We do not dare to speculate or draw quick conclusions about the type of object,” he said.
Jules said the incident did not cause disruption or fatal consequences. He confirmed that both police posts remain operational as usual. “Our posts remain safe, remain in good condition and can be used as they should be,” he said.
Jules added that his party is still investigating whether the incidents at the two locations were purely acts of mischief or whether there were other attempts to disrupt public order. “We are still investigating this incident. We do not yet know whether this was merely a disturbance to public order, whether it was just mischief, or whether there were other attempts to disrupt public order. However, there were two locations where criminal disturbances occurred that night,” he said.
He said Surabaya City Police officers are still gathering evidence and investigating the chronology and causes of the incidents. The type of object allegedly thrown at the police posts is also still under investigation.
“Regarding information about the object allegedly thrown, I need to convey that investigators from the Surabaya City Police are still investigating the type of object and the cause of the incident itself, so we cannot yet confirm what type of object it was or what the cause was,” he said.
He urged the public to report immediately if they encounter anything suspicious, either through call centre 110 or the nearest police station. “If colleagues or members of the public encounter anything suspicious, they can immediately inform us at call centre 110. This is available 24 hours and is toll-free,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yudi, a railway crossing gate officer whose office is directly opposite the A. Yani Margorejo Traffic Post in Gayungan District, Surabaya, revealed the chronology of the suspected Molotov cocktail attack. He said the alleged perpetrator acted alone using a moped and wearing dark-coloured clothing.
“Just one person. The characteristics are not very clear. From here, the person is not clear. Because his position was facing west,” said Yudi on Sunday (16/8).
In addition to wearing dark-coloured clothing, Yudi said the alleged perpetrator also wore a plain light blue helmet. “[The perpetrator wore] black clothing, dark anyway. From here it looked dark, meaning not coloured. The helmet, as I glimpsed, was light blue. I don’t know the brand, because it was plain, plain light blue,” he said.
From his observation, the alleged perpetrator entered the tent beside the traffic post before lighting a fire while sitting on the motorcycle, then threw the suspected Molotov cocktail in front of the guard post door. Yudi estimated the action occurred at around 7.30 pm local time.
“He was under the tent. His position was under the tent, he threw it from there. He did not get off the motorcycle, so he lit the fire while on the motorcycle,” he said.
After the bomb was thrown, Yudi said he only heard a sound like breaking glass, without any explosion. Flames were then seen rising to almost one metre high in front of the post door.
“There was no explosion sound. Just a sound like breaking, glass breaking. The perpetrator immediately left,” he said.
The perpetrator reportedly fled immediately after throwing the bomb. Shortly afterwards, a female motorist passing from the A. Yani frontage road behind the observation post got off and extinguished the fire.
“In less than one or two minutes, another motorist, a woman, extinguished the fire. So the fire did not get big, so people were certainly brave enough to extinguish it,” he explained.