Vendor arrested for throwing stones

TANGERANG: A street vendor was arrested by police following a brawl between dozens of Tangerang public order officers and hundreds of vendors on Thursday evening at Pasar Anyar.

Five public order officers were injured in the brawl and taken to Tangerang General Hospital as vendors pelted them with stones.

One officer was still in hospital as of Friday, while the street vendor, Anton, remains in police custody. Anton, who sells men's belts, was the only one caught in the act of pelting stones at the officers.

The incident caused a large traffic jam, with many passing public transportation minivans and private cars trapped in the congestion. Many vehicle windows were damaged from the stones thrown by the vendors.

However, there were no reports of injured motorists.

The brawl ended after hundreds of police officers from the Tangerang Police Headquarters, just 200 meters away, arrived and fired shots into the air.--JP