Mobs vandalize entertainment spots

BOGOR (JP): A total of 42 dimly lit kiosks and entertainment spots on Jl. Raya Parung in Parung district here were vandalized by an angry mob late on Monday.

The crowds also damaged the three biggest discotheques in the area, namely Flamboyan, Sariwangi and Pendopo 45.

Local residents were reportedly afraid to go out as the mobs vandalized the entertainment spots.

"My kiosk was already closed when hundreds of armed men arrived and started to storm the place.. I could only watch as they outnumbered us," Syamsul, one of the kiosk owners, said.

"I consider such action to be robbery as they broke into people's properties, brandishing weapons such as sickles and machetes, and took away valuable things such as radios and dozens of bottles of beer," Syamsul said.

Head of the neighborhood association, Boim, however, said that he knew nothing about the occurrence. "I was in Sukabumi at the time of the incident."

A local resident named Dedi, 20, however, said that such violent actions had been common ahead of the Ramadhan fasting month.

"In fact, they (the mobs) came in three trucks but only two trucks managed to enter Kampung Jabon and Kampung Kemang while the other truck was intercepted by the police in Parung," Dedi said.

The mob dispersed around midnight on Tuesday after the police persuaded them to leave the area. (21/edt)