Police round up 46 without ID cards

JAKARTA (JP): Police and government officials in Tangerang netted 46 people, who had hit the streets without ID cards, in an operation early Thursday.

Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Aryanto Boedihardjo said the government would "take the necessary legal action" against those without identification. He did not elaborate.

"Citizens should not go out without ID cards so that, if anything happened to them, the authorities could contact their relatives," Aryanto said as quoted by Antara.

The Kilat Jaya operation, which primarily targeted migrants, was held near Cikokol and Cimone bus terminals as well as in the town's park which is a popular refuge for destitute newcomers.

"I never imagined that authorities in Tangerang would conduct such an operation," Santi, alias Setio Nugroho, a transvestite from Cilacap, Central Java, who was caught in the park, said.

Tangerang mayoralty is determined to turn away job seekers without documents on the grounds that they will only worsen the unemployment problem. (pan)