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)