Fewer than half of 430 Jakarta fire cases resolved

Fewer than half of 430 Jakarta fire cases resolved

JAKARTA (JP): Police announced here yesterday that only 196,
or 45.9 percent, of the 427 fire cases recorded in the capital in
the January-September period this year have been thoroughly
resolved.

"Out of the resolved cases, only four were believed to have
been cases of arson," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen.K.
Ratta told a press conference. The fires have been responsible
for hundreds of billions of rupiah in losses yet none of the four
arson cases were committed to collect insurance payments, he
added.

According to Ratta, the main problem for members of the
National Police Forensic Laboratory Center is gathering
substantial material evidence at the scene of the blaze.

In many cases, Ratta said, members of the forensic center,
locally known as Puslabfor, fail to produce even a single
important piece of evidence to help facilitate their
investigation. Such failures are usually due to firemen, and any
others helping to put out the blaze, who have tampered
intentionally or unintentionally with evidence.

As a result, Ratta has asked for public assistance in
gathering information regarding fires in an effort to help
resolve the remaining 231 fire cases that occurred during the
first nine months of this year in Jakarta.

Data show that last year the city recorded 594 fires within
the same period and 789 cases throughout the whole year. No data
for resolved cases was available.

According to Ratta, fires in the city were mainly caused by
electric problems, human errors and carelessness.

He cited the recent fires at a Hero supermarket outlet in
Mampang and Pasar Cipulir market, both in South Jakarta, which
were caused by shortcircuits.

Arson

Ratta strongly denied allegations that a number of police
officers have colluded with property owners who deliberately
burnt their buildings for insurance compensation.

He explained that arson cases were carried out as a result of
internal rifts over salaries and financial problems.

But some cases have also revealed that fires were started in
order to collect insurance money.

The first of the four cases recorded so far this year in the
city was the fire at PT Yalim Maju Jaya in Sunter, North Jakarta.
The fire was set in February by some of its 2,500 employees who
claimed that they had yet to receive their monthly salaries.

The other three cases were carried out by crowds who set city
buses ablaze after the drivers hit pedestrians or other vehicles.
Two buses were burnt in March and four others over the past two
months by angry mobs.

Among the cases which have yet to be solved are a major fire
at Bendungan Hilir (Benhil) in Central Jakarta and at the Pasar
Balaraja traditional market in Tangerang.

The first blaze burned hundreds of low-cost houses in the 1.5
hectare in Bendungan Hilir on Sept. 9, which later sparked a
dispute between officers and squatters trying to defend their
land.

The fire at the local market in Tangerang, which took place
early this month, razed nearly 800 small kiosks.

National record

According to Ratta, National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman has
asked all related officers to help find solutions to the
unresolved cases.

Data at the National Police Headquarters state that the number
of fires throughout the country has increased rapidly over the
past four months.

A total of 365 fires occurred in September, compared to 299 in
August, 189 in July and 184 in June.

Central Java recorded the largest number of fire cases in
September with 64, followed by Jakarta (60) and South Kalimantan
(48).

When asked about allegations that many fires were deliberately
set by the authorities and certain parties in order to take over
a plot of land for business centers, Ratta bluntly replied:
"Nobody wants a fire to happen."

As reported earlier, the squatters who rebuilt their houses at
the site of a recent fire in Benhil clashed with hundreds of
anti-riot security officers attempting to evict them. More than
20 people were injured in the incident.(bsr)