No electricity supply for illegal buildings

PALANGKARAYA, Central Kalimantan: The provincial administration will no longer supply water and electricity to buildings constructed without proper permits.

Central Kalimantan Governor Asnawi Agani said here on Wednesday that the move was aimed at curbing the unchecked spread of buildings constructed without permits in the district and enforcing the province's spatial zone ruling.

"The local administration has asked the state-owned electricity company (PT PLN) and the tap water company (PDAM) to cut off their supply to buildings without permits," he said.

"It is true that so far numerous buildings have been built in areas prone to flooding and landslides without any building permits from the local administration," he said.

In the meantime, Palangkaraya Mayor Selundik Gohong said that the municipal administration fully supported the provincial administration's policy.--Antara

Dengue hits Siompu island

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Thirteen people have died and dozens of others are still receiving medical treatment after an outbreak of dengue fever on Siompu Island, some 20 kilometers from Buton regency in Southeast Sulawesi.

Lawitri, a local resident, said the death toll was expected to rise as many of the victims were being treated with traditional medication and many of them lived far from local health centers.

Reliable sources reported that the people of the island were expecting assistance from Buton regency to deal with the epidemic as they did not consider the local health centers to be adequately equipped to cope with the problem.

Buton Regent LM Syafei Kahar said he was yet to receive any reports on the dengue outbreak but vowed to dispatch a team of paramedics to the orange-producing island to prevent the spread of the disease.

Jalal, a local health officer, said the fever had been affecting Kendari and Kolaka regencies for three months without any attention from the local administration. --Antara

Porn VCD owner jailed

BANDUNG: The Bandung district court on Tuesday sentenced Didi Darmadi (27) to eight months imprisonment and fined him Rp 500 for possessing a pornographic VCD.

His bad luck began when a woman came to his VCD shop on Jl. Sukajadi last January to buy a VCD entitled Bandung Lautan Asmara (Bandung a wave of lovers).

As he did not have it in stock, Didi acquired a copy from a business acquaintance but was arrested before he could give the disc to the woman.

Didi, who was found guilty of possessing a pornographic VCD, accepted the court's verdict. --Antara

;JP;NFK ANPAa..r.. Surabaya-demonstration Police, street vendors clash in Sidoarjo JP/7/boyo

Police, street vendors clash in Sidoarjo

SIDOARJO, East Java: Police clashed on Tuesday with hundreds of street vendors protesting in the East Java city of Sidoarjo against the local administration's move to evict them from stalls in the Jl. Gajah Mada area.

Police fired warning shots at least ten times to disperse the protesters, who fled the scene in panic toward Jl. Raden Patah.

There were no reports of casualties.

The clash, which erupted at 9:30 a.m., was sparked by vendors beating plainclothes security personnel who were attempting to park their cars in the area.

The protest also involved local residents living in the nearby Kauman area.

On Monday night, city public order officers had attempted to forcibly remove the street vendors from the Jl. Gajah Mada area because it was to be converted into a parking lot.

The protesters prevented vehicles from parking in the disputed area on Tuesday morning, including those belonging to the plainclothes officers.

"Because we were worried that the situation would become more chaotic, I instructed my members to fire warning shots. Their (the protesters') actions led to the violence," Sidoarjo Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Susilo said.

He said the police had arrested three people charged with using violence during the protest. They had been detained and would face questioning. --Antara