Major student brawl erupts in Tangerang

TANGERANG (JP): Hundreds of senior technical high school students were involved in a brawl in Cikokol on Wednesday evening, causing windows of a public bus and several other vehicles to be damaged.

Those involved in the brawl were students from technical high school STM Yuppentek 1 and STM PGRI in Tangerang against those from STM 16 in Kalideres, West Jakarta.

The incident started when about 60 STM 16 students, who brought their school flag with them, stopped a bus driven by Siswo Pinem by force, demanding a ride.

"They stopped the bus by force, by gathering in the middle of the road," Siswo said.

He said the students immediately got off the bus on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, when they spotted a group of rival students from STM Yuppentek 1 and STM PGRI Tangerang.

The two groups were later involved in a war using stones, which damaged glass windows of the bus and other vehicles which happened to pass by the area.

The brawl stopped only after soldiers and police officers were deployed to control the situation.

Tangerang Military District chief Lt. Col. Meries Wiryadi said nine students were arrested after the brawl for carrying sharp weapons, such as machetes and swords. (41/jun)