Jakarta's mean streets dish up more grizzly crimes

Jakarta's mean streets dish up more grizzly crimes

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): In terms of crime, this year was kicked off with
a street clash on Jan. 9 between two hoodlum gangs in Tanah Abang
with members brandishing samurai and machetes to settle a
disputed over "business territory".

And the year was capped off with the discovery of dozens of
bodies and skulls of aborted fetuses and babies in North and
Central Jakarta in late November. The macabre unearthing prompted
a debate on abortion which has polarized the city's 10 million
residents.

Throughout the year -- which is the Year of the Ox according
to the Chinese calendar -- Jakarta has witnessed a wide variety
of crimes, ranging from gruesome to high-profile incidents.

In the lead up to the May 23 general election, violent riots
descended upon the city, leaving death and great financial loss
in its wake. At least three soldiers were killed here while
securing the event and the exact number of civilian deaths
remains unknown.

Bomb hoaxes were an almost daily occurrence, sending the
public into a panic during an undeniably tense period.

The National Soccer League finals in July was another
opportunity for unruliness. Thousands of hooligans, mostly fans
from regional soccer clubs flocked to Jakarta and proceeded to
irk traders, motorists, passers-by and city authorities.

About 630 soccer fans were detained on various charges,
including vandalism, extortion and pickpocketing.

Most of the cases which have attracted widespread media
attention, however, rarely had anything to do with politics or
football. It was all about money.

Hitting pay dirt

The kidnapping of business tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, the
increasing role of foreigners in drug smuggling, the endless
clashes in Tanah Abang, the theft of gold and the dumping of
aborted fetuses and babies were among the high-profile police
investigations.

Nursalim, the owner of Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia (BDNI),
was allegedly abducted on Sept. 2 by at least nine men who
demanded a ransom of Rp 15 billion which had to be transferred in
U.S. dollars to a bank in Singapore.

He was released three days later after his family transferred
at least Rp 12 billion to the appointed bank.

When the victim reported it to police, city detectives busted
eight of the suspects, including a Singaporean, in different
places, including the Malaysia capital of Kuala Lumpur, the
following month.

Most of the big drug-related cases this year have involved
foreigners. (see related article on this page)

And foreigners have also tried their hand at working as
illegal entertainers or prostitutes and engaging in the theft of
phone pulses.

In early August, a dozen foreign women were nabbed by the
immigration office after being caught red-handed working as
prostitutes here.

On May 20, two Japanese men were detained by customs officers
at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport for trying to smuggle
several protected species -- consisting of 33 malu-malu (loris or
Nycticebus coucang), four alap-alap eagles (Elanus hypoleocus),
three Rajawali hawks and two owls.

They were arrested while trying to leave Jakarta for Tokyo on
a Japan Airlines flight.

Hot spots

Tanah Abang was the hottest address in the city with clashes,
disputes and riots dominating news about the area. No one was
spared as residents, hoodlums, traders and public bus drivers
were swept into the fray.

Three weeks after the Jan. 6 gang war, a violent conflict
erupted between hundreds of roadside vendors and city public
order officials there. The Jan. 27 clash culminated in the
burning of two municipal buildings and seven cars.

The situation heated up again when mikrolet minivan drivers
went on strike to protest the collection of illegal levies by
hoodlums.

And just a few weeks ago, Tanah Abang was again rocked by
clashes, this time between residents and hoodlums. At least two
people were killed, prompting the city authorities to go all-out
against hoodlums.

The year was also marked by a remarkable but puzzling series
of armed robberies, with gold topping the list of prized booty.
Why puzzling? Because only a few offenders were apprehended.

At least 20 kilograms of gold has been snatched by criminals,
who have opened fire on anyone who got in their way, killing a
police sergeant and injuring civilians.

At midday on May 3, a group of thieves fired four rounds into
a display counter of a gold shop on Jl. Paseban Raya in Central
Jakarta and escaped with two kilograms of gold.

On June 8, 1.2 kilograms of gold and Rp 8 million was stolen
by intruders in a house on Jl. Gunung Sahari Raya in Central
Jakarta.

On the morning of Aug. 1, a group of men armed with guns and
machetes ambushed a small convoy of vehicles which was carrying
two kilograms of gold along Jl. Dr. Susilo in Grogol, West
Jakarta.

One of the bandits slashed and fatally shot First Sgt. Witono
of the elite police Mobile Brigade Unit, who was assigned to
escort the convoy.

A few weeks later, police announced that nine of the suspects
had been arrested from various regions, including in East Java.
One of the perpetrators -- believed to be the one who shot Witono
-- was shot dead by police.

The latest gold robbery was again staged in broad daylight. A
gang of at least four men broke into a gold shop on Jl. Rawasari
in Central Jakarta after firing several shots in the air to scare
passers-by. They made off with about four kilograms of gold
during the theft which lasted less than 20 minutes at midday on
Dec. 14.

Turning up the heat

The discovery of dumped fetuses and babies -- which may
account for more than 60 skeletal remains -- opened one chapter
in the long-hidden story of abortion practices performed by
doctors and medical staff at some clinics in the city.

The unexpected find of 11 fetuses and babies in Warakas, North
Jakarta, on Nov. 21, resulted in the closure of two clinics and
the arrest of dozens of suspects, including two doctors. The
skulls of fetuses and babies were later found in a school and a
clinic compound.

During the year, con men used hypnotism to swindle people out
of their money.

Even the well-educated were entrapped, saying they were
totally helpless and had to obey the robbers' instructions. They
handed over jewelry and other valuables or withdrew their entire
savings from bank accounts for the thieves.

Suspects were not given a second chance if they placed the
lives of police officers in danger. The unwavering stance of
police to shoot suspects who resisting arrest or attacking police
remained relentless this year.

At least 85 people were shot dead by city police.

Most of the shootings took place during arrests or when
suspects were accompanied on a search for accomplices or their
hiding places.

But it was not only criminals that bore the brunt of police
crackdowns, as the rank and file were also targeted.

On Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, for instance, a massive blitz on
discipline caught 60 Armed Forces (ABRI) members unawares at
several nightspots, which are off-limits for servicemen.

Far away from the bright lights of discotheques and pubs, a
record number of people -- most of whom were believed to be
criminals -- were attacked by angry residents in retaliation for
illegal acts. About 90 people were assaulted in neighborhoods
throughout the city, and some of this number died as a result.

Last year, the number was about three dozen.

Authorities warned against people taking the law into their
own hands but it seemed to have little effect on mob rule here.

On April 21, angry vendors in the Jembatan Lima fruit market
in West Jakarta assaulted and cut off the ears of an alleged
thief, Mansur, who was said to be caught red-handed stealing
fruit and money from a vendor.

Banking on returns

Newspapers were inundated with stories of white-collar crime,
with an increasing number of banks caught up in scams.

Most of the high-profile cases were once again committed by
bank employees. Noted businessmen Kim Johannes and Made Oka
Masagung were even accused of allegedly being involved in a bank
scandal.

Four employees of the central bank were also arrested in
August for their allegedly role in a conspiracy with executives
of a private bank.

At least Rp 2.5 trillion was at stake in a series of rackets
in the capital alone. Those banks touched by the schemes included
state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia 1946 (BNI) and privately owned
Bank Arta Prima, Bank Perniagaan and Bank Dwipa.

The bankers allegedly took advantage of their positions in the
banks to authorize and arrange fictitious loans, commercial
papers, bonds and certificates of deposit.

While police were busy solving crime, the fire department was
called in to stop the city turning to ash.

With a prolonged dry season, a lack of fire safety equipment
in buildings and the public's lack of awareness the large number
of fires became an annual record.

According to the latest figures released by the Jakarta Fire
Department, there were 1,186 fires this year, compared to a
previous record of 1,082 fires in 1982.

Fires have so far killed 38 people, including the 15 victims
of the Dec. 8 inferno on the top levels of Bank Indonesia's new
tower. Damages were estimated at Rp 90 billion.

One of this year's fire fatalities included firefighter Danu
Sisworo, who was killed on April 4 while trying to extinguish the
Harco Mangga Dua blaze in West Jakarta. He was accompanying his
wife on a medical checkup at a hospital when he was called in.

Mean streets

Two or three people died on Jakarta roads every day this year.

"The number of traffic fatalities in August was 166, up from
155 in July. Most of the accidents took place on toll roads and
were caused by speeding or reckless driving," Col. Fachrudin
Bakar, chief of the Jakarta Traffic Police Directorate, said.

On Sept. 14, an accident on the narrow Cakung-Cikunir toll
road resulted in 35 deaths and dozens of others were
hospitalized.

Other less sensational crimes have nevertheless gained public
attention, including the rising number of ojek (motorcycle taxi)
drivers killed and robbed by passengers.

Crimes against expatriates, including diplomats, also
featured.

On the evening of July 21, for example, Palestinian Ambassador
Ribhi Awad was forced to shoot an alleged thief who attempted to
rob and stab him.

Other foreign envoys claimed that street crimes against them,
their families and property have become routine and police paid
little attention to their reports.

On Dec. 7, Canadian Jon Joseph Mitchon, 38, was fatally
stabbed, allegedly by the young brother of his local wife. The
20-year-old suspect told police that he was offended by Jon
calling his sister a hooker.

With the downturn in the nation's economy and rising number of
unemployed people, many predict that crime will significantly
worsen next year.

But no one really knows what is in store next year, the
Chinese Year of the Tiger.

Last year, many soothsayers predicted that 1997 would be riot
free because riots are uncharacteristic for the Year of the Ox.

But the facts prove that Jakarta was hot for the ox.