W. Java town calm after riot, shops remain closed

JAKARTA (JP): The West Java town of Kadipaten, about 150 kilometers southeast of here, was calm yesterday as many shops remained closed following a riot Sunday and early Monday.

West Java police spokesman Lt. Col. Istanto Judihardjo said the police had the subdistrict town under control but conceded that tension persisted in some areas.

"The town has resumed its normal day-to-day activity although not all shops have reopened yet. It's normal for a town which has just experienced a riot," he told The Jakarta Post by phone from Bandung.

Five people had been detained for questioning, he added.

The riot broke out Sunday night and continued into early Monday following reports that security guards at the Kemukten general store strip-searched a local woman Saturday they and the owner suspected of stealing a pair of socks.

On Sunday morning, dozens of people pelted stones at the shop shortly after it opened. They then attacked the shop owner's house and car.

Scores of people massed again Sunday night and attacked other shops, a restaurant, a billiards hall, a motel and a church.

Istanto said: "It was spontaneous violence stirred up by a misunderstanding.

"But the misunderstanding has been cleared up in a meeting between local community leaders, the girl, and the shop owner."

Istanto said five people -- four youths arrested red-handed for throwing stones and the Kemukten shop owner -- had been detained in the Majalengka police precinct for interrogation.

"There have been no indications so far that the riot was orchestrated," the spokesman said.

It was the latest in a series of disturbances to have shaken Java over the last few months.

Several acts politically motivated mob violence hit Pekalongan, Central Java in April. It involved United Development Party and Golkar supporters.

A major riot, targeting Chinese and Christian properties, in which five people were killed occurred on Dec. 26 last year in the West Java town of Tasikmalaya. (aan)