Post-riot tension grips Bandung
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)