Hoodlums reign again in Tanah Abang market

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso has vowed to crack down on a new gang of hoodlums that have reportedly been extorting money from traders in the Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta.

Reports of the presence of hoodlums in the textile and garment wholesale market come barely four months after the place was last cleared of criminal gangs.

Traders say the gangs extort between Rp 500 and Rp 1,000 a day from each of them and threaten them with violence if they dare to refuse the demand.

Sutiyoso, a former Jakarta military commander, said Monday he would not tolerate racketeering in the city.

"Combating criminal gangs is one of my jobs as governor. I will never stop in efforts to clear the capital of hoodlums," he told journalists.

Hoodlums are reported to have reappeared in growing numbers since the city clamped down on their operations in a successful campaign last November.

Police and troops helped by citizens moved in on the gangs after hoodlums and local residents were involved in several days of fighting in the Tanah Abang area toward the end of last year.

Those arrested were sent to re-education centers run by the military where they were given basic training in entrepreneurial skills before being released.

Smaller scale operations to end the gangsters operations had been launched in the past, but with little success.

It is not clear whether the gang currently operating in Tanah Abang is a new one, or related to the one recently evicted by the authorities. Until last year, Tanah Abang was the stomping ground of gangsters led by Hercules, a native of East Timor.

Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said Monday that maintaining law and order in the market was difficult because of the limited number of security personnel patrolling the area.

Andi said there were only 10 police officers to oversee 1,352 vendors listed as operating in and around the market.

Sutiyoso countered that the number of officers should be sufficient.

"The mayor should liaise with the Central Jakarta Military district command and Central Jakarta Police precinct," he said.

Andi said the mayoralty was planning to demolish shacks illegally built on state land in the Tanah Abang area. The huts have been built along the river and in the red light district of Bongkaran.

Occupants have been given until Sunday to remove the shacks or the authorities will tear them down.

"As long as the shacks remain, Tanah Abang will retain its image as a slum area and thuggery will remain a headache for the government," he said.

He said there were 50 illegal huts along river banks and in the Bongkaran area.

The mayoralty will involve citizens and community leaders in the crackdown on illegal huts and prostitution in the area. (ind)