Mobs riot in Denpasar, Indramayu, four injured
Mobs riot in Denpasar, Indramayu, four injured
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Nana Rukmana, Denpasar/Indramayu
Hundreds of people rioted in two separate incidents in Cirebon
and Bali on Sunday leaving four people injured, dozens of houses
and eight cars damaged.
No fatalities were reported in the incidents, which were
caused when localized disputes escalated.
In the West Java town of Indramayu, dozens of youths from
Sabrang village, Brondong, stormed into the neighboring Bedahan
hamlet and threw rocks at houses when villagers were sleeping.
The villagers then called the police, said Katim, 60, a
resident whose house was damaged in the incident.
The disorder ended after dozens of officers arrived in the
area and arrested four youths. Many others managed to evade the
authorities.
The incident left 37 houses with damaged roofs and broken
windows. The mob also trashed two cars.
Rajam, 48, his wife, Narti, 35 and Tanirah, 21, were hit by
rocks, sustaining bruises to their heads and shoulders.
Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Johni Suroto said on
Monday the rampage was apparently in retaliation to an assault on
a Sabrang villager by Bedahan youths.
Separately, in Denpasar, Bali, about 150 people armed with
sharp weapons went on a rampage on Monday night at the Ubung
intercity bus terminal. One person was injured and six cars were
damaged in the attack.
Bali Provincial Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Pengasihan Gaut
said on Monday the rampage was a response to an incident the day
before.
On Saturday night, Bambang Irawan, a resident from Jl. Achmad
Yani in Denpasar, got drunk with four friends at the Ubung bus
terminal. They then violently attacked four bus ticket booths in
the terminal. The incident ended peacefully after terminal
officials confronted them and calmed them down.
On Sunday evening, Ari, Bambang's younger brother, rode a
motorcycle into the terminal.
"On entering the premises he was stopped by a security guard
and they became involved in a fierce argument, which ended in an
altercation," Gaut said. Ari had been assaulted by another
security guard at the terminal once before, he said.
Ari went back to his house, about 2.5 kilometers from the
terminal and told his brother of the assault. Bambang gathered
hundreds of residents in the neighborhood and they went on a
rampage at the terminal. Six cars parked nearby were damaged,
while one person was injured and admitted to the Sanglah
Hospital. Police later arrived at the terminal and arrested six
people for questioning.