Owners, employees of razed stores wait for examination

JAKARTA (JP): Owners and employees of razed stores in Pasar Baru are hoping the police will conclude forensic investigations promptly so they can reopen as soon as possible.

The first floor of the Harco Plaza was spared by Monday's blaze which gutted the rest of the building, and owners said they wanted to collect their merchandise.

However the police said no one would be allowed to enter the premises before they had completed their investigations.

Around 30 kiosk owners gathered yesterday in front of the plaza, waiting patiently for the investigation results.

However a police forensic team that started the second day of its investigations at about 9 a.m. left the scene at 2:30 p.m empty-handed.

The fire which started around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning was only completely extinguished the following morning.

The second, third and fourth stories of Harco Plaza were destroyed along with the neighboring King Plaza.

Maj. Bambang S., the head of the team, said investigations would take at least two more days.

A group of kiosk owners on the first floor of Harco Plaza, agreed to start operating at the same time.

One of them said the agreement was needed to avoid suspicions circulating in case of lost items. They also agreed to visit the site daily to check when they could start business.

A woman who owned three batik shops said she suffered losses of Rp 600 million. She said she was worried over the fate of her 14 employees as she had not paid them either their salaries or their Idul Fitri allowances.

The same feeling was shared by a watch trader who employed two workers.

The manager of Harco Plaza, Buntaran, said the management would pay its 33 employees their salaries and holiday allowances.

"We would never abandon them," he said.

A Harco cleaning worker from Bogor said he would not complain even if he was not paid.

However an employee of a hairdresser grumbled about his boss' negligence. Fahmi said his boss knew of the fire but did not contact his employees.

"I contacted the boss in Karawang three times but he was unavailable," Fahmi said. He expected his employer to make a decision on whether he would be transferred to another branch.

The King Plaza manager, Wahyudi, said he would pay all employees as usual. (11)