Journalists protest assault

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: More than 50 print and television journalists gathered on Tuesday in front of Samarinda City Hall to protest an alleged assault on a Kaltim Post journalist by employees of the city's Sanitation and Gardening Agency.

The protesting journalists demanded that tough action be taken against those involved in assaulting Agus Susanto.

Agus was allegedly attacked by four sanitation agency employees while covering an event at the residence of the Samarinda mayor. Agus, who often wrote critical stories about the handling of garbage in the city, suffered a minor facial injury in the incident.

Police have detained four suspects and are still investigating the alleged assault, said Samarinda Police deputy chief of detectives, Adj. Comr. Novi Irawan. -- JP