Preventive steps the best to curb N. Jakarta crime

Preventive steps the best to curb N. Jakarta crime

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto
urged officers to take preventive measures in anticipation of
problems arising in slum areas in North Jakarta due to the
existing social gap.

He warned on Saturday that the varied ethnic backgrounds of
the people living in the slums, as well the exclusive areas of
the mayoralty, and the wide variety of ways in which they earn
their livings, have the potential to spark serious social
tension, which could lead to the violation of laws.

He made the remarks after inducting Lt. Col. Edi Darnadi, 43,
as the new chief of the North Jakarta police precinct to replace
Lt. Col. Heru Susanto, who was assigned as a staff member at the
National Police Headquarters.

Hindarto also reminded his listeners that the mayoralty has a
number of small islands in the Seribu chain which are not easy to
supervise due to its location.

He advised the newly-installed chief to familiarize himself
with and approach all community members on all levels of society
without taking their status into consideration.

"Identify your new surroundings and the local people quickly,"
he told the new precinct chief.

North Jakarta is widely known to most residents of the capital
for its numerous and serious crimes, many of which remain
unsolved.

Among cases which have not been solved are the rape and murder
of a six-year-old girl near the defunct Ancol race track and the
brutal killing of gambling organizer Nyo Beng Seng in front of
his wife's house in Pluit.

Levina Dwisy, a daughter of an ethnic Chinese businessman, was
found dead under the bushes near a temple in the area of the race
track on March 24 this year. Her attacker used her clothes to
strangle her. The bicycle she had been riding was discovered near
her body. Dozens of people have been questioned and five special
teams have been set up to investigate her tragic demise.

Beng Seng, 57, an ethnic Chinese businessman, was violently
stabbed 12 times on April 15 by at least four masked men in front
of his second wife's mansion at Jl. Pluit Kencana Raya 128 in
North Jakarta.

Pledged

Acknowledging the large number of major criminal cases which
have yet to be solved in the area, Hindarto pledged that none of
the cases would be closed before they had been solved.

"Although we're still facing our old problem, we vow to
continue investigating all cases which have not been resolved,"
he said referring to the limited number of police personnel and
the shortage of funds needed for carrying out their operations.

"All the unresolved cases will be homework for the new
officer," Hindarto said.

Edi is a graduate of the Police Academy, the Police College
(PTIK) and the Senior Police Officer Course (Sespim).

Edi promised to do the "homework" assigned him by employing
all the personnel the North Jakarta precinct force has, as well
as by applying strategy in the battle against crime in the area.

"But I also need participation from the public," Edi said.

Touching on the investigation of Beng Seng's killing, Hindarto
said the City Police Headquarters has sent its senior detectives
to Singapore to collect more data and information in the efforts
to find the person or people behind the killing.

When questioned by reporters yesterday, Hindarto refused to
give any details about the latest progress of the police
investigation.

"I have no words about that," he said.

An informed source said that the detectives are going to
question Beng Seng's chief competitor in the gambling business,
who is hiding in Singapore and believed to know who plotted the
murder.

The victim was the owner of a cassette and video recording
firm and a number of nightclubs, massage parlors and beauty
salons.

City Police spokesman Col. A. Latief Rabar said the police
have yet to find the missing link that would resolve the mystery
surrounding the death of Beng Seng.

Refusing to elaborate further, Latief said that the police are
now beginning to seek more evidence and information, which could
solve the case. (bsr)