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)