How they did it in Tangerang

How they did it in Tangerang

JAKARTA (JP): The development of a Rp 2.4-billion (US$1.05 million) office of the Ministry of Public Works office in Tangerang, West Java, has been stopped indefinitely following a violent protest last week by residents of the adjacent police housing complex, who claim the land.

Scores of angry residents from the housing complex went on a rampage on Thursday night, destroying the security post, workers' barracks and the fences around the 7,000-square-meter block of land.

Responsibility for the violent protest has been claimed by none other than Tangerang police chief Lt. Col. R. Hari Setyabudhi. "We meant to safeguard our property," he said, as quoted by Kompas on Saturday.

Hari said that the regency administration was building on land which rightfully belongs to the police without first consulting with him. (pan)