Half of W. Java crimes solved

BANDUNG: West Java Governor R. Nuriana says that police have solved less than half of the 14,443 crimes they had handled from January to October this year.

Presenting the provincial development plan at the legislative council's plenary session on Wednesday, he blamed the insufficient number of personnel for the police's poor performance. He did not elaborate.

Quoting police reports, Nuriana said that conventional crimes, including murders, tortures and thefts, were still dominant. "But there is a modern crime trend, such as illegal banking and copyright violations."

Police also recorded that as many as 807 street demonstrations had taken place in the nine-month period from January to October. Most of the demonstrations were staged by workers demanding better pay.

"Crime rate and public disturbances play a significant role in social and economic stability. Investors need a conducive political climate," he said.

West Java enjoyed only US$1,486 billion in foreign investment in 1999, while in 1998 foreign investment was $3,143 billion. "In 1997 we received $8,398 billion. The trend is descending," he said, predicting that the amount of foreign investment in the province would not be impressive this year. (25/sur)