Jakarta: A city of crime and fear

From Berita Yudha

As a Jakarta citizen, who originally came from another town, I have been afraid to go out alone in the evenings lately due to the increasingly sadistic nature of the city's crimes.

One day I saw an obviously drunk adolescent ask for a cigarette from a passerby who was a nonsmoker and so could not comply with the demand.

The drunken youth then summoned his friends to beat the passerby. My heart ached as a witness to this scene.

Is Jakarta now unsafe, especially for women like me?

I appeal to security officers to be more active in coping with crime to make the city a pleasant place to live for all of us.

DEWI NURUL

Jakarta