Resting in peace getting expensive

Resting in peace getting expensive

JAKARTA (JP): The practice of extorting illegal levies has
become so common in the city that even people mourning the death
of their relatives at public cemeteries are not safe.

Last weekend, about 50 families joined hands to protest the
illegal practice at the Grogol public cemetery in Kemanggisan,
West Jakarta.

Zainul, who represented the protesters, said that the Rp
360,000 (US$160) that the cemetery management asks to bury each
body was not only too expensive but also illegal. The official
fee is Rp 10,000, he said.

Suara Karya daily reported yesterday that the protesters also
condemned the cemetery officials for vandalizing at least 20
graves because the dead people's relatives refused to succumb to
their demand.

Instead of paying Rp 250,000 for a tombstone, the relatives
did the digging and fixed the tombstones by themselves.

The protesters also filed their complaints with the governor,
demanding that the cemetery officials be punished for corruption.
(bsr)