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)