Troops look on as people pick factory clean

JAKARTA (JP): A steady stream of people flowed back and forth, hauling iron and other construction materials from a deserted auto assembly factory in North Jakarta on Saturday.

Several trucks and hired carts were parked near the compound on Jl. Lodan as the people, mostly scavengers and used goods vendors, went about their business.

A handful of soldiers armed with rifles could only watch the plundering, which has occurred for the past two weeks.

Some of them even helped clear the way for the vehicles, using the opportunity to ask for tips.

No representatives of the plant, called Bengkel (auto repair shop) Mercedes, owned by the Indonesian Service Company, could be reached for comment.

But one of the soldiers at the scene, Chief Sgt. Suherman, said the people were plundering the site because they had no permission from the owners.

"But what else can we do as even the police who should secure this site have already given up. The people outnumber us."

On Sunday afternoon about 400 soldiers, deployed to the location, managed to secure the site by driving the looters away.

Local police reportedly first tried to drive the people from the site, giving up when they returned in force the next day.

Suherman said the plot formerly belonged to liquidated Bank Umum Nasional; its assets are now under the supervision of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

From a distance, a soldier could be seen taking Rp 10,000 from a tired-looking man, who quickly pulled out the note at the former's approach.

Locals said the site was used to assemble various types of cars until about five years ago when operations moved to Bekasi.

Ten warehouses and two office buildings sit on its four hectares. Only the frames remain on eight of the structures which have been picked clean.

Risks are involved. Three people have reportedly died in accidents at the site.

Muadis, 36, of Pademangan died from a fall from a roof after he tried to rip off iron sheeting.

Friends collected their bodies but did not report the deaths to the police.

The people believed they were not doing anything wrong.

They argued the materials would rust and go to waste if they did not take them.

Nobody knows who first started to plunder the site.

"All we knew was that these abandoned stores belonged to Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra," one of the men said, referring to the youngest son of former president Soeharto.

A used iron vendor, Eko, from Jantis in Pekojan, West Jakarta, said his sister, in the same profession, had tipped him off.

"My sister told me to come here, saying that there are a lot of things that can be taken here. She did not mention whether it was allowed or not."

Indra from Angke, also in West Jakarta, said he came to the "mining" site with his five workers, who helped him sort iron.

Renting a truck for Rp 50,000 per day, he said he could earn at least Rp 300,000 daily from the lucrative business.

Some people have even brought along melding machines to make their work easier; most vendors and scavengers rely on screwdrivers.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang claimed not to know about the pillaging of the site.

"There has been no report on looting either from the police or from the company, but I'll seek information from the local police about this matter," he said on Saturday evening. (emf)