Hermes now in the hands of Park Office

JAKARTA (JP): The city Public Works Office handed over to the Park Office on Tuesday the statue of the Greek god Hermes, which was reported missing, after keeping it for four days at the office's headquarters.

The head of the Public Works Office, Fardly Katib, said the Parks Office was responsible for all statues in the city, while his office was responsible for maintaining the Harmoni bridge, near the presidential palace in Central Jakarta, where the statue sits.

"The Park Office's task is to preserve the city's statues, while our responsibility is to maintain the bridge on which the statue is located," Fardly told The Jakarta Post before a ceremony marking the handover of the statue.

He denied stating that the bronze statue was taken by his staff on Friday after the Harmoni bridge was hit by a vehicle. The incident reportedly almost knocked the 1.8-meter statue into Ciliwung River.

One rumor said a mentally ill man climbed onto the bridge and shook the statue.

"I think certain parties wanted to steal the statue," Fardly said. He referred to a rope found around the broken left heel and broken parts of the statue wrapped in a plastic bag. The torch in its left hand was also missing.

Head of the Park Office's program division Indro Kusumo said the office's staff began searching for the statue upon hearing a police report that it was missing.

He was surprised, however, when informed that the statue's heel was broken and the Park Office was expected to repair it.

Another Park Office official, Agung Sukaton, told the Post there would be a meeting at the office on Wednesday to determine the fate of the statue.

"There is an idea to put the statue in the museum and put a replica of it on the Harmoni bridge," he said, saying the proposal came from Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Abdullah.

According to Park Office records, there were originally two statues of Hermes on the Harmoni bridge. One of them, however, went missing about a decade ago.

"I do not know when and where the first statue went missing," Agung said over the phone. He added that luckily the Public Works Office has rescued the last statue from disappearing. (04/ind)