No vendors at Mall

BANDUNG: Business around Cibadak Mall here was still far from normal on Sunday following a brawl which broke out between merchants and nearby residents late on Friday.

The over 300 vendors, usually situated around the mall, were nowhere to be seen following a pledge by administration officials to clear the area of sidewalk hawkers.

The melee erupted when a pedicab driver struck a vendor's cart which was parked at the side of the road.

The pedicab driver, after being attacked in retaliation by one of the vendors, then fled the seen only to come back sometime later with a mob to take revenge on the vendor.

As confusion broke out residents around the area joined in and destroyed most of the kiosks along Cibadak street.

Police broke the mob up several hours later after firing several warning shots.

There have been long harbored ill-feelings between the residents and vendors. The latest incident was the third brawl between vendors and residents this year.

Bandung Deputy Mayor Endjang Sudarsono who surveyed the area on Friday night pledged to remove all sidewalk vendors in the area if residents felt troubled by their presence.

He said the vendors were initially permitted to trade in the area on a temporary basis until the administration found a better location for them.

"Three years ago, there was only between 200 and 300 merchants. We did not expect the number to swell this fast," Endjang said. (43/02)