Post-riot tension grips Bandung
BANDUNG (JP): Tension gripped several parts of the city yesterday following a traffic accident and riot Tuesday evening that left four people dead and seven others hospitalized.
Residents and passers-by on Jalan Kopo and Jalan Soekarno- Hatta went on a rampage, smashing minibuses plying the Cibaduyut- Cicaheum route, after two people were killed in a traffic accident at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. In their anger, the mob killed two innocent people.
Pedicab driver Jana bin Samijah, 39, and his passenger, 16- year-old Uus M. Yunus died after they were hit by a minibus driven by Mardamo Marbun, 37.
Passers-by and residents then started attacking the public transport vehicle and the driver; in the process they killed Pipin Arifin, 25, a resident who had been trying to help the two victims. Pipin died at the Emmanuel Hospital.
The mob then continued toward the intersection of Jl. Cibaduyut and Jl. Kopo, the pool and car wash area for the minibuses. They ransacked the place, burned 13 minibuses, and killed Yana, 23, who had been washing the vehicles.
Marbun was among the seven treated at the Hasan Sadikin hospital.
Some witnesses told The Jakarta Post last night that Marbun had hit the pedicab accidentally but other sources said the accident happened because Marbun had been fleeing the area because unidentified people had pelted his minibus with stones.
The chief of military district 0618/BS, Let. Col. Inf. Osaka Meliala, said the accident was an ordinary crime and unrelated to any other unrest taking place in other parts of the country.
Osaka said his personnel had managed to disperse the crowd without incident. "I led my own men there to maintain security, and in no time at all people's emotions were controlled," he said.
The military also instructed that the minibuses for that particular route should stop operating temporarily. In exchange, Osaka requested state-owned bus company DAMRI to deploy its buses.
Osaka denied reports that Bandung Mayor Wahyu Hamijaya had summoned ulemas to help soothe the upset crowd. "There was a meeting between ulemas and the mayor at the city hall this morning but it was held in connection with a (planned) religious program, and did not have anything to do with Tuesday's incident," Osaka said.
Bandung police are continuing to investigate the case. City Police Chief Col. Erwin Mappaseng refused to comment about their investigation.
Marbun has reportedly been discharged from hospital and is currently under police interrogation. He could be charged with negligence leading to the death of another person. (ahy/01)