Raid on beggars turns ugly

JAKARTA: A raid on beggars at the Istiqlal Mosque in Sawah Besar district, Central Jakarta, late on Tuesday turned ugly when dozens of people inside the mosque chased the officers away, hurling plastic bottles and chairs at them.

Seeing the public order officers approaching the mosque at about 11:30 p.m., many of the beggars -- whose numbers soar during Ramadhan -- ran inside the mosque.

This interrupted a Koran reading, the participants of which thought the officers had come to check their identity cards. The participants put down their Korans and gave chase to the officers, including Sawah Besar Regent Suprihatin, who was leading the raid.

The raid also involved the police and the military.

"We tried to calm them and tell them why we were there, but it was to no avail. They kept on attacking us. Maybe they were angry because the officers entered the mosque and caught one of the beggars who was pretending to pray," Suprihatin said. -- JP