Hermes now in the hands of Park Office

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)