Residents set fire to rubber factory, 53 arrested

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Pati, Central Java

Local police officers have detained 53 latex tappers from Karangsari subdistrict in Pati after they were caught on Tuesday in a destructive rampage at the rubber processing company PT Rumpun Sari Antan.

As of Wednesday, the police were still questioning them at the Pati Police station, located some 75 kilometer south of Semarang.

The incident began on Tuesday morning, when dozens of Karangsari residents flocked to an area in their subdistrict, where a rubber processing factory belonging to PT Rumpun Sari Antan is located. The rubber factory is about 50 kilometers away from the main town of Pati.

The residents, most of whom worked for the company to tap latex at its rubber plantation in their subdistrict, descended on the company's factory to demand a 50 percent share from each liter of latex tapped from the plantation.

But, as they arrived at the gate of the factory, several PT Rumpun Sari Antan employees quickly locked the gate, preventing the group from entering the factory's compound.

The move incited anger among the residents, so they began to destroy the gate. After finally knocking it down, the angry latex tappers proceeded to burn two warehouses, a truck, a security post and four other small buildings within the compound.

Police personnel arrived at the scene afterwards, and they immediately arrested 39 suspected perpetrators on the spot. Fourteen others were arrested later in the evening.

The arrests have stirred anger among other residents of the Karangsari subdistrict. On Wednesday morning, hundreds of the latex tappers' relatives and neighbors flocked to the Pati police headquarters to demand the release of their fellow residents.

Kusno Bashori, the subdistrict chief of Karangsari, was among those who demanded the release of the group.

In response to the demand, Comr. Untung Slamet, the deputy Pati police chief, said that his men were still investigating the incident.

"If they are not guilty, then we will set them free," Untung told Kusno and the others.

Kusno said that the workers had been demanding a 50 percent take for three years. The workers have been paid on a per day basis rather than the amount of latex collected. The amount of money paid each day was not made clear.

The company has never accommodated their demand for the change in remuneration, provoking anger among the residents, Kusno said. He added that the anger came to a head on Tuesday, resulting in the rampage. The management of the company was not available for comment on Wednesday.