Police arrest firecracker vendor

Police arrest firecracker vendor

JAKARTA (JP): Police in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, seized
5,000 firecrackers and arrested a 30-year-old woman, allegedly in
possession of the illegal goods, over the weekend.

The woman, a mother of two, claimed that the firecrackers
belonged to her neighbor, according to Major Martono, head of the
Tanah Abang police sub-precinct. The confiscation and arrest took
place at a traditional market place.

The use or possession of firecrackers is banned in Indonesia.

According to Martono, the woman admitted under questioning
that she had been selling the firecrackers in order to make ends
meet. The suspect was identified only as "ST".

Martono said the woman had claimed that she needed money to
pay her children's school fees.

ST was released after signing a declaration that she would
never again engage in such activities, Martono said.

The number of street vendors selling firecrackers in and
around the city normally increases in the lead-up to the Moslem
post-fasting holiday of Idul Fitri (Lebaran). Next year the
holiday falls at the end of February. (bsr)