Police look for leads in gang brawl investigation

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Police are still in the dark about a Wednesday gang brawl in the Asemka subdistrict of West Jakarta, in which four cars and one motorcycle were severely damaged by one of the gangs.

"So far, we have questioned 10 witnesses. The witnesses have figured out the chronology of the incident, but we have yet to find information on the motive for the incident," West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Adjie Rustam Ramdja said at his office on Friday.

Adjie said police had been unable to arrest the gang members involved in the brawl, which usually reveals a motive for such incidents.

"The 10 witnesses were onlookers and parking attendants," he said.

Police suspect the motives of the brawl to have been business competition between the two gangs, which are reportedly led by individuals called Abau and Martin.

"The two gangs probably competed to take by force the authority to control security affairs at the amusement center," he said.

The incident began on Wednesday evening at about 6 p.m. when dozens of members of Abau's gang allegedly raided the deserted bank in the Angkasa Pura building on Jl. Asemka.

The building had been used as a gambling den, security for which was allegedly provided by Martin's gang.

The raid was apparently in retaliation for a raid carried out by Martin's gang approximately one hour earlier on an Abau- controlled gambling den in the nearby Pancoran area of West Jakarta.

Witnesses said Abau's gang were armed with machetes and wooden sticks when they attacked the former bank building, forcing members of Martin's gang to flee the scene.

The witnesses said Abau's gang failed to catch the rival gang members, who escaped in the direction of the Kota railway station.

The gang then smashed glass windows in the building and damaged four cars and a motorcycle.

Adjie acknowledged that police had not known the premises were being used for gambling purposes.

"It was once used as a gambling den, but we have shut it down. We didn't know it was later reused as a gambling den," he said.

He said if police had known about it's illegal use, the police would have acted quickly to shut it down, especially during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan. (asa)