Puncak hotel owners request extra police

Hotel owners in the mountain resort area of Puncak met with Bogor Police officials on Thursday to request extra protection for their establishments following last weekend's rioting.

Earlier Wednesday, ulemas -- Muslim clerics -- in Puncak also held talks with the police.

During the meeting at the Mawar Indah Hotel in the Ciawi area of Bogor, the businessmen complained that the numbers of guests declined markedly after locals raided and damaged some hotels, which they alleged were being used for prostitution, on Saturday evening including the Sulanajana Hotel which accommodated people from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result, they called on the police to protect their businesses in the area, which rely on tourists.

During the meeting, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bogor chapter chairwoman, Siti Juwita, called on all PHRI members to prohibit prostitution practices in the resort area.

The Bogor Police chief, Sr. Comr. Nanan Soekarna, admitted that the police had yet to provide more security due to a lack of personnel.

"So far, we have deployed tourist police officers to Puncak, especially on the weekends," he said, as quoted by Antara.

During Saturday's riot, the angry mob attacked several hotels and vandalized brothels in Cipayung. The riot paralyzed traffic between Jakarta and Bandung for over two hours.

At least 40 people were arrested but they were released after the police named only two persons as suspects in the rioting. -- JP