Monkey Attacks in Marunda, North Jakarta, Residents Suspect Escapees from Bekasi

Residents believe the wild monkeys roaming the Marunda area in Cilincing, North Jakarta, originate from Tarumajaya in Bekasi Regency. One resident, Neneng Nur Aeni (40), said that some time ago there was a wild monkey attack in Bojong, Tarumajaya. She said there were seven wild monkeys roaming the area, but only three were shot dead. This led Neneng to suspect that the monkeys now appearing in Marunda are some animals that escaped Tarumajaya and made their way into residential areas in North Jakarta. Additionally, she noted that Marunda had not previously experienced such incidents. ‘It has always been safe; there has never been a monkey disturbance like this, it’s only happened this year,’ she told Kompas.com on Thursday. ‘These are newcomers, those monkeys. Wild monkeys,’ she added. According to Badriah, the wild monkeys now appear almost daily around residents’ houses and move between locations frequently. ‘They come every day indeed,’ she added. Meanwhile, Cilincing Police Sector Humas Chief, Aipda Coko Handoko, said the monkey attacks occurred in two different locations, Cilincing in North Jakarta and Tarumajaya in Bekasi Regency. ‘That’s a different incident. The one in Cilincing has one victim,’ he told Kompas.com on Thursday. ‘I’m not sure about the monkeys. Whether the perpetrators are the same or not,’ he added.