Police gaffe

Police gaffe

Police wrongfully raided two warehouses, containing hundreds
of tons of rice on Friday, as part of stepped-up efforts against
the hoarding of rice and kerosene following the government's
planned price increases.

The first raid took place at a warehouse located on Jl.
Gresik, Nusantara bonded zone, North Jakarta, that was the
suspected site of 200 tons of hoarded rice.

A guard at the warehouse, which belonged to PT Indo Grand
Perkasa, said that the rice had been imported from Vietnam.
However, the police believed that the rice came from Indonesia.

Later in the day, a unit of the detective squad raided another
warehouse, this one containing 2,700 tons of rice belonging to
World Vision, an international non-governmental organization
(NGO).

The rice sacks, with labels reading "USA ... not for sale,"
were apparently intended as humanitarian assistance for poor
people in Indonesia.

The police have recently been intensifying their raids on
warehouses all around Jakarta which are believed to be the
location for hoarded rice and fuel.

There has been a dwindling availability of kerosene, and the
price of rice is soaring following the government's plan to
increase fuel prices.

According to the police, rice hoarding as stipulated in Law
No.5/1999, is punishable by a maximum of six months in prison,
and a fine of Rp 25 billion. --JP