Problem with tradesman

I have lived for over five years in this beautiful country which I love from the depths of my heart.

I have a nice little family with a beautiful wife from Malang and two children, and more than one reason to be proud of them.

We also own a small house on the outskirts of Jakarta. We are very happy there. Here starts my story.

It happened that we wanted to close our terrace in order to enlarge our living area and to have a comfortable place for breakfast with a view into the green of our small garden.

So we employed a tradesman to do the work for us. This of course, was under the guidance of an architect. The work was not satisfactory. The architect was very unhappy with the quality of the work and suggested that we should not pay the worker for such a poor job.

After meeting with the worker and architect, I offered half with the balance to be paid after completion. The architect advised me to leave the matter to him and await the project's completion. I took his advice and kept quiet.

One night we heard a loud scream followed by a pounding on the newly installed door, threats to our family, and demands for payment. I was scared to death and felt helpless. Who can one turn to for help in such situations?

A neighbor's quarrel ended in a payment to workers for fear of more serious consequences. I finally paid my bill for the same reason.

My wife said I should put the safety of my family above all else. What sort of situation is this? We are not a well-off family. We can only live in comfort after hard work. Advice and comments from readers would be appreciated.

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