One shot, five arrested in Senen market complex unrest
One shot, five arrested in Senen market complex unrest
JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta Police shot one man and detained
five others for looting at the Atrium Senen shopping center
during unrest in the busy Senen market complex on Thursday
evening, an officer said.
The incident, sparked by a heated argument between a street
trader selling pornographic VCDs and a customer, also left two
motorcycles burned.
Asst. Supt. Iza Fadri, deputy chief of the Central Jakarta
Police precinct, said crowds gathered and when rough elements
began looting, his men shot a man during the unrest.
"This man has been taken to a hospital but I don't know which
hospital," Iza told The Jakarta Post.
The other five men, the officer added, were arrested and
several wristwatches in their possession which they had just
looted from a store at Atrium Senen were confiscated as evidence.
"We also seized a hammer which was believed to have been used
to shatter the glass cases in the store," Iza said.
Until late in the evening, no hospitals in the area, including
Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, could confirm admission of
the wounded man.
"We received no injured person from the Senen unrest," a
staffer at Cipto said.
At the scene, locals recalled that the incident began at
around 5:30 p.m. after the unidentified VCD customer went back to
the VCD seller to give the latter a lesson.
Witnesses said that the VCD trader with the help of fellow
traders about 50 meters behind Atrium Senen beat the customer,
who had reprimanded the seller over the price he offered.
"Upset, the trader shouted 'thief, thief' and the customer was
then beaten by the other sellers," Udin, a witness, said.
The man left but came back with a group of his friends who
took revenge, damaging the kiosks, witnesses said.
A few minutes later, the crowd grew bigger and tires and
wooden planks were set ablaze on Jl. Gunung Sahari.
The elements of the mob then threw stones at the windows of
Atrium Senen, forced their way in and began to steal the
merchandise.
The incident lasted for more than an hour until police fired
tear gas canisters into the crowd.
The unrest led locals to prohibit any vehicles from passing
the street near the disturbance, causing heavy traffic congestion
in nearby Pasar Baru area.
By 8 p.m., the traffic and the situation in the area had
returned to normal.
Five police trucks were seen parked around Atrium Senen until
late in the evening. (ylt/lup/07/bsr)