Land document put halt to eviction

BEKASI: Public order officers and the police were stopped from tearing down a motorcycle shop in a Pondok Gede soccer field on Tuesday after the occupants showed them a land ownership document.

"The land belonged to the late Jemblem, our ancestor," said Merdeka, 54. "The officers could not show me any documents stating that the land belonged to the administration."

The ownership document for the 8,000 square meters of land was issued in 1886 during Dutch colonial rule.

Jemblem's heirs insist they have the right to keep their shop, which opened three months ago.

However, they said that if the administration offered them sufficient compensation for the land they would tear down the shop themselves by Aug. 9. --Antara