Tanah Abang market returns back to normal

Tanah Abang market returns back to normal

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said
Saturday that the police had brought the chaotic situation at the
Tanah Abang market, which was the scene of a riot Friday, under
control.

The unrest was caused by dozens of angry hoodlums who
blockaded one of nearby streets and threw anything they could lay
their hands on at officers who had arrested eight of their
friends for gambling, Aritonang said.

He said the police persuaded the angry hoodlums to stop
venting their anger on innocent vendors and other people around
them.

Street vendors operating near the market panicked and tried to
save their merchandise and belongings when the hoodlums began
throwing things at them.

Shop attendants and employees from nearby offices ran away to
avoid becoming innocent victims of the riot.

"No one was arrested in Friday's incident. The hoodlums
stopped rioting not long after the Central Jakarta police arrived
at the site and cleaned up the mess in the street," Aritonang
said.

Aritonang said the eight hoodlums who were caught gambling at
the market site were being held for further questioning.

He said the arrests were carried out in response to city
councilors' criticism of the mushrooming gambling in Tanah Abang
market.

Councilors from commission A for public order and security had
visited the market Thursday and witnessed many hoodlums gambling
in and around the market.

All gambling is prohibited by law. Those who are found guilty
of it face a maximum of two years and eight months imprisonment
or a Rp 6,000 (US$1.70) fine. (cst)