Police on alert in Johar Baru

JAKARTA: Some 100 police officers were still on guard on Sunday to prevent any recurrence of a brawl among residents of the densely populated Johar Baru subdistrict, Central Jakarta, which killed one and injured at least two people.

Police identified the deceased as 30-year-old Teddy Effendi, who died of an air rifle shot.

Police data showed that during the fight--the second during the last few months-- eight houses were set ablaze and at least 10 others were damaged.

Julius, an officer of the Johar Baru police subprecinct said Teddy died of an air rifle shot that had been fired by one of his rivals and not by police.

"Our officers did fire warning shots but they were not aimed at the people. We had to shoot because the situation got out of control and the residents were difficult to calm down," the officer said.

He said police would maintain security levels in the area until they believed that residents would not engage in any new clash.

The brawl had been going on since late last Friday but the police managed to bring the situation under control at around 10 a.m last Saturday, he said, adding that at least five people, including the head of the subdistrict, had been questioned by police.

When asked about the causes of the brawl, the officer only said, "It's just one of those things that happens from time to time, a prolonged dispute between the residents that can erupt anytime without much cause." -- JP