Senior citizens give in to terror at their nursing home

Senior citizens give in to terror at their nursing home

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After three nights of terror and intimidation at the Pniel
nursing home on Jl. KH Samanhudi Dalam in Central Jakarta, the
residents and staff savored rujak (fruit salad with spicy peanut
dressing) in a party on Sunday afternoon as they eventually
decided to move out of the century-old facility.

"What else can we do? It (the attack) is a high-level game
that we cannot play. We cannot stand it anymore so we have
decided to leave the facility," nursing home director Stien
Hitipeuw told The Jakarta Post.

"We believe that God will give us a place," she added.

The violent attacks took place on Thursday and Friday nights
and had terrified the 71 septuagenarians, as the thugs smashed
the front outer wall which is located near the rooms where the
senior citizens sleep.

One of the residents, Lily, 68, had left the facility on
Saturday night to stay with her daughter due to the fear and
intimidation which her ailing heart could not take, promising to
return when the nursing home had been moved to a new place.

The unidentified men, who had built a corrugated iron fence
surrounding the 4,000 square-meter complex and its 3,000-square
meter open field as well as a security post at the entrance, had
been seen loitering around it in the last three days, even when
police were present.

But on Sunday, none of the men were seen on the compound nor
the police.

"It's a lie if the police say they were here to guard us
following our complaint. They came two hours after the attack on
Friday, although we had called the emergency number 112 several
times.

"And the two policemen went inside just to say that they were
here to mediate a negotiation between us and the thugs," Stien
said, adding that she had filed a complaint with the Sawah Besar
subprecinct police on Thursday.

The violence is apparently connected to a protracted legal
dispute over the ownership of the 7,000-square-meter plot of
land, the current value of which is estimated at approximately Rp
70 billion (about US$8.3 million) due to its strategic site in
the central business district.

The property was reportedly sold to a director of now defunct
Bank Tata in 1993, whose assets were later acquired by Bank Artha
Graha, which is controlled by controversial businessman Tommy
Winata.

However, it was unclear who ordered the attack as the police
have not questioned the attackers loitering around the nursing
home.

Commenting on the absence of policemen at the nursing home
although a report had been made, Central Jakarta Police deputy
chief Adj. Comr. Ricky F. Wakanno said on Sunday that he would
look into it.

"If it's true, then the policemen had breached the law for
neglecting their duty to protect and serve the community," he
told the Post.

However, there is no written law yet that stipulates sanctions
for negligent police, said Rudy Satrio, who is a legal expert
from the University of Indonesia.

"However, the community can file a class action suit against
the police in this case," he told the Post.