Officers 'behind protection racket'

Officers 'behind protection racket'

JAKARTA (JP): City Council Commission B for economic affairs
proposed on Thursday that subdistrict-level military and police
officers be dismissed for their alleged involvement in the
extraction of protection money from street vendors.

Commission B deputy chairman Agung Imam Soemanto said he had
received information from city residents and street vendors that
several military and police officers at the subdistrict level
were behind the collection of protection money.

"They (the officers) are not directly involved in collecting
the money. They hire hoodlums to do it.

"We have received tip-offs from people that they also collect
money from illegal parking attendants and togel gambling agents,"
Agung said on the sidelines of a hearing with administration
officials from the City Council's regional economic bureau.

Commission B chairman Syarief Zulkarnaen also said street
vendors had complained of having to pay protection money.

"We have received complaints from street vendors that they
have been forced to pay illegal fees," Syarief said

Agung said the military and police officers had taken the
initiative to collect the money after learning that Law No.
18/1997 on Regional Levies states that street vendors no longer
have to pay official fees.

"They have been collecting protection fees since city
officials no longer supervise street the collection of levies
from vendors," he said.

He said commission members agreed that the 1997 law be revoked
as it was not in line with the 1999 Law on Regional Autonomy.

Meanwhile, head of the regional economic bureau Dameria
Saragih revealed that a joint investigative team had found that
there were 12 kinds of protection money collected by hoodlums
from street vendors in the capital.

The joint team, which was set up in mid-August, comprises city
officials and representatives of the Bogor Agriculture Institute.
The team is responsible for gathering information on the hundreds
of thousands of street vendors in the capital to find solutions
to their problems.

Dameria, however, refused to talk more about the
investigation.

"It's only a preliminary finding. Once we have the complete
report from the joint team, we will disclose details on the
amounts of money extracted and to whom the hoodlums deliver it
to," she said.

Dameria said that those involved in the extraction of
protection money would be punished.

"If any city officials are involved, heavy punishments will be
imposed on them," she said.

Syarief said the commission welcomed the team's findings and
promised that it would follow up on it. (lup)