Hercules named suspect in attack on 'Indo Pos' daily
Hercules named suspect in attack on 'Indo Pos' daily
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police have arrested members of a gang and their
leader Hercules in relation to the attack on the office of Indo
Pos daily in South Jakarta last Tuesday.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Friday
that Hercules and 12 other men were arrested on Thursday evening
and were being held at city police headquarters.
"We have questioned Hercules and members of his gang.
Moreover, we have sufficient evidence to name several of them as
suspects," he said.
Hercules was among those declared suspects, Firman said.
Twenty people from Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, who claimed
allegiance to Hercules, descended last Tuesday on Graha Pena, the
office of Indo Pos daily to demand an explanation for an article
in its Monday edition on thuggery in Tanah Abang.
The gang members said the reporter had not interviewed them
for the article. They also asked the daily's chief editor Irwan
Setiawan to explain the article in person.
The article talks about a change in Tanah Abang, whereby a new
generation of thugs have taken over the area from Hercules, who
was said in the article to have studied Islam in Cirebon, West
Java.
Several men entered the building by force, seeking out the one
responsible for the article. They then assaulted two reporters
and threatened to destroy all computers in the building if they
were not shut down.
They continued to make trouble until officers from the South
Jakarta Police ordered them off the property.
After the incident, Hercules said members of his gang had been
at Indo Pos to demand an explanation from the reporter.
He said he was not a thug as described in the article as he
had never extorted money from store owners or residents of Tanah
Abang.
Firman said the police would charge the suspected attackers
under Article 170 of the Criminal Code on attacking and injuring
people and on destroying private property.
Under the article, a suspect could be sentenced to nine years'
imprisonment if found guilty.
The attack sent the message to National Police chief Gen.
Sutanto that his nationwide campaign against thuggery did not
achieve its objective.
The operation called Sarutama was launched in May after
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Sutanto and provincial
administrations across the country to crack down on thuggery as
the President had received many complaints about the practice
through SMS.
Thousands of thugs were arrested in the operation but a large
number of them were later released without charges.
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police have arrested members of a gang and their
leader Hercules in relation to the attack on the office of Indo
Pos daily in South Jakarta last Tuesday.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Friday
that Hercules and 12 other men were arrested on Thursday evening
and were being held at city police headquarters.
"We have questioned Hercules and members of his gang.
Moreover, we have sufficient evidence to name several of them as
suspects," he said.
Hercules was among those declared suspects, Firman said.
Twenty people from Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, who claimed
allegiance to Hercules, descended last Tuesday on Graha Pena, the
office of Indo Pos daily to demand an explanation for an article
in its Monday edition on thuggery in Tanah Abang.
The gang members said the reporter had not interviewed them
for the article. They also asked the daily's chief editor Irwan
Setiawan to explain the article in person.
The article talks about a change in Tanah Abang, whereby a new
generation of thugs have taken over the area from Hercules, who
was said in the article to have studied Islam in Cirebon, West
Java.
Several men entered the building by force, seeking out the one
responsible for the article. They then assaulted two reporters
and threatened to destroy all computers in the building if they
were not shut down.
They continued to make trouble until officers from the South
Jakarta Police ordered them off the property.
After the incident, Hercules said members of his gang had been
at Indo Pos to demand an explanation from the reporter.
He said he was not a thug as described in the article as he
had never extorted money from store owners or residents of Tanah
Abang.
Firman said the police would charge the suspected attackers
under Article 170 of the Criminal Code on attacking and injuring
people and on destroying private property.
Under the article, a suspect could be sentenced to nine years'
imprisonment if found guilty.
The attack sent the message to National Police chief Gen.
Sutanto that his nationwide campaign against thuggery did not
achieve its objective.
The operation called Sarutama was launched in May after
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Sutanto and provincial
administrations across the country to crack down on thuggery as
the President had received many complaints about the practice
through SMS.
Thousands of thugs were arrested in the operation but a large
number of them were later released without charges.