Ex-brothels left standing

JAKARTA (JP): City authorities have yet to demolish houses in a prostitution complex in Pejompongan, Central Jakarta, which was officially closed down last month.

Some 25 houses, which were deserted by about 150 prostitutes, are empty and locked up. The seals put on the doors of the houses by a team of the Central Jakarta mayoralty were broken.

"It is quiet here since the closure last month. Most of the girls said that they would return to their hometowns. Probably not," Yadi, a resident in the former red-light area, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Yadi and his four friends were playing cards on a bench in front of a house in the complex.

He was informed last month by the chief of the community that the houses in the complex will be pulled down to make way for the construction of low-cost apartments.

"Until now there have been no signs that the project will start. Even the houses have yet to be demolished," he added.

The Pejompongan Indah red-light complex was shut down on March 24. The brothels, which housed some 150 prostitutes and 25 panderers, opened in the early 1970s.

Central Jakarta Mayor Abdul Kahfi earlier said that the houses would be demolished by the end of March.

Kahfi said the demolition the brothels was urgent since the low-cost apartments located nearby would soon be inaugurated.

He said the administration would start building another apartment building where the complex stands as soon as the houses were demolished.(04)