Pluit nightspot torn down in land dispute

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Due to a land dispute, an entertainment spot, housing the Lucky Star discotheque, karaoke, massage parlor, restaurant and wine bar, on Jl. Pluit Indah, North Jakarta was bulldozed on Tuesday morning.

The demolition has reduced the 8,500-square-meter entertainment center into a huge pile of rubble, with broken bottles and compact discs scattered everywhere.

Ferry Juan, the lawyer of PT Pesona Nusantara, which manages the entertainment center, said the company estimated it lost Rp 8 billion due to the demolition.

According to one witness, Gimin, who worked in security at the discotheque, about 300 people, comprising security guards from another firm and members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) carried out the demolition work at around 7 a.m.

"I saw a police patrol car parked nearby the location but the officers inside did nothing to prevent the demolition," Gimin told The Jakarta Post.

However, a police officer said the police had readied about 150 personnel in anticipation of the situation worsening.

Penjaringan subprecinct police chief Comr. Krishna Murti said the demolition was due to a prolonged property dispute between the tenant, PT Pesona Nusantara, and the owner, PT Jakarta Propertindo.

As the property is being disputed in court, the police had no legal basis to stop it, he said, adding it would not help much if the police took action because he knew the buildings were about to be destroyed.

He regretted that PT Jakarta Propertindo made use of the FPI to conduct the demolition.

The tenant, PT Pesona Nusantara, as managers of the Lucky Star discotheque, and the owner of the property, PT Jakarta Propertindo, as the city-owned enterprise, had been locked in a dispute over the property for three years.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for PT Jakarta Propertindo, Suryadi, denied the allegation that the company had recruited other parties to carry out the demolition.

"We did not use any outside forces to demolish the building," Suryadi remarked, reiterating the presence of FPI members was only accidental.

He supported PT Jakarta Propertindo, saying it had fought for its rights.

A member of the legal staff at PT Jakarta Propertindo, Ayub Suleman, however, refused to explain the use of the bulldozer to demolish the building.