Soldiers on alert in Karawang
JAKARTA (JP): Soldiers were still on guard on Saturday around the devastated business district in Karawang, West Java, which was hit by a major riot the day before, to prevent any possible fresh outbreak of unrest.
Hundreds of residents and youngsters were seen flocking to the mouths of alleys around the Johar area on Jl. Suroto Kunto.
Local police said the situation in the city had been brought under control since Friday night and no curfew had been imposed.
Two people died in Friday's unrest.
The two victims were identified as Jumadi, 18, a student of Tri Jaya Sakti technical high school, and Udin bin Sali, 35, a resident of Pewarengan subdistrict in Cikampek district, Karawang.
The two, who died of gunshot wounds, were taken to Karawang General Hospital before being sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for post mortem examinations on Friday and Saturday morning respectively.
Asep, a security guard at Karawang General Hospital, quoted Udin's family as saying that he was visiting his relatives in the Johar area when the riot started.
He said that Udin, who was in a critical condition when he was rushed to the intensive care unit of the hospital, was shot in the chest when the angry mob stoned stores and security officers tried to disperse them.
"His family said that Udin could not catch any public transport to return home. Probably, he later joined the angry mob and ended up being shot," Asep told The Jakarta Post.
At least 55 people were questioned at Karawang police station over their involvement in the riot. Thirty-one people are facing charges and will appear in court.
Another suspect, believed to be a member of the Armed Forces, was sent to West Java police station in Bandung for further interrogation.
The unrest begun in the busy Johar area, which houses a market, cinema, hotel, banks, restaurants and a row of stores, on Thursday night.
Earlier that night, an ojek driver was said to have been assaulted by a local police officer. The rumor incited anger among other drivers, who along with locals and people from other districts, immediately attacked police posts.
On Friday, thousands of people gathered again and began to pelt stones at stores and public buildings in the business district of Jl. Suroto Kunto and Jl. Tuparev and surrounding areas.
Six police posts, Karawang police station and Kota police station were also vandalized by the mob.
Local police, however, denied the allegation of police brutality, saying that the unrest was orchestrated.
The mob also looted department stores and shops, in the absence of security guards, and burned cars, furniture and rubbish on the street.
Local residents said that some of the mob, which consisted mostly of high school students and youths, came from other districts such as Cikampek, Klari, Rengasdengklok and Telaga Sari.
Karawang, situated 72 kilometers east of Jakarta, has 14 districts and 300 villages. (ivy)