City promises commuter help

Mustaqim Adamrah and Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta, Tangerang Wed, 05/28/2008 12:56 PM Headlines

Despite ongoing strikes and arbitrary fare increases, agreement has yet to be reached on official public transportation fare increases.

Talks between the Jakarta administration, the Transportation Ministry and Jakarta's Land Transportation Owners Organization (Organda) have so far proved fruitless.

Striking public transportation drivers demanded the government increase transport fares in the wake of Friday's fuel price rise.

The strikes have left thousands of passengers stranded. Governor Fauzi Bowo said Tuesday the administration would provide vehicles to offset the lack of buses.

City transportation agency head Nurachman said this was one of the administration's three contingency options.

"First, we'll wait for the ministry's decision because Organda says public vehicle fares will not be increased if the government subsidizes fuel for public transportation," he said.

"The ministry is now calculating how much it can subsidize. This may take time."

He said the second option was to increase public transportation fares by 15 percent.

"The third option will be taken if no agreement is reached between the concerned parties," Nurachman said.

"We'll provide passengers with buses borrowed from the National Police, the Army and those used to transport our employees."

He said the transportation council and Organda were trying to find a middle ground in working out a reasonable fare increase.

Herry Rotty, chairman of Organda's Jakarta chapter, said a rise of 40 to 50 percent in fares would be realistic.

"But in principle, we still demand a subsidy," he said.

The governor said he would ask busway operator Transjakarta and state railway operator PT Kereta Api (KA) to extend their working hours in an effort to mitigate the impact of the drivers' strike.

Transjakarta operational manager Rene Nunumete said his company was prepared help.

KA's head of operation for the Greater Jakarta area, Akhmad Sujadi, said KA would need to consider the governor's request.

Reports from Tangerang showed a 25 percent increase in sales of commuter train tickets to the capital, suggesting many Tangerang residents who usually drove cars or rode motorcycles to Jakarta were taking the train.

Anton Suryadi, a Cisauk resident, decided to go to work by train.

"I don't mind the crowded train car. I have no choice. If I use my motorcycle to get to work, I will have to spend more money for fuel," he said.

Public minivan passengers have also made the transition to trains because many minivan drivers have raised fares. KA, however, has not yet raised its fares.

KA does not have any plans to increase the frequency of commuter trains despite the increase in passenger numbers, Sujadi said.(uwi)

Tangerang open to privatized tap water

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Wed, 05/28/2008 12:56 PM City

The Tangerang regency administration is allowing private investors to supply tap water in certain areas because regency-owned water company Tirta Kerta Raharja (TKR) is unable to meet total demand.

Regency secretary Nanang Komara said private investors would provide clean water to several districts in the western part of the regency such as Cikupa, Pasar Kemis, Sepatan, Jayanti and Balaraja.

"Private operators will not disturb TKR's market at all," Nanang said Monday.

TKR currently supplies 950 liters of tap water per second to 90,000 customers, 60,000 of which live in Tangerang municipality. The other 30,000 customers live in the regency.

Head of the regency's environmental management agency Didin Syamsudin said Tangerang, as a large regency with 36 districts, needed private investors in managing tap water provision.

"With its limited production and services, TKR is yet to reach all districts in the regency," he said.

He said private investors interested in managing tap water businesses in the regency would face no difficulty in water resources because they could utilize the Cisasdane river and many small lakes.

TKR spokesman Anda Suhanda said his company was in favor of the administration's plan as the company was still unable to serve residents in the regency.

"We have 60,000 residents on our waiting list to subscribe to tap water. We can't comply with their request because we also have some constraints in terms of facilities, budget and water available from the Cisdane river," he said.

Anda said private investors would help the regency fulfill the central government's target of providing clean water to 80 percent of the total population in every region by 2015.

The Tangerang regency council's deputy speaker Arief Wahyudi said the council supports the plan but still needed time to realize it.

"We will have to discuss it with legal experts and hold dialogue with the Finance Ministry to assess the investment plan. We also need feedback from the people," he said.

Tangerang urged to update data on aid recipients

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Tue, 05/27/2008 3:16 PM City

The Tangerang legislative council on Monday demanded the administration evaluate more carefully data on cash aid recipients across the regency to avoid violent protests.

"The administration must learn the lessons of 2005 when residents attacked village administration offices in several districts because of invalid data," said Endang Sujana, the legislature speaker.

He said the administration should undertake an accurate collection of data before distributing the cash aid to lower income residents, to ensure the aid reaches those most in need.

"In 2005, many residents who were eligible for the aid were not listed, and some who were not eligible were listed," he said.

Figures released in 2006 by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show there are 31,254 poor families in Tangerang municipality and 254,485 in the regency.

"Such figures will likely increase by about 3 percent this year because of various factors such as mass layoffs, food price increases and economic fluctuations during 2006," said Yeane Irmaningrum, head of Tangerang BPS.

She said the BPS was worried about the impact unverified or invalid data would have on the agency itself, because the BPS has been the target of violent protests before.

"We don't have the authority to carry out our own surveys for data verification because we can only authorize survey proposals from each administration," she said.

Mas Iman Kusnandar, Tangerang administration assistant, said the regency did not yet have a fixed timetable for the distribution of the aid.

"We are waiting for the local post offices to be properly prepared," he said.

Syamsul Irawan, Tangerang Post Office deputy chief, said there was still no word on when the cash aid would be distributed, although 45 staff members had already been trained to help in the distribution process.

"I haven't been informed on when the cash aid distribution will start. I hope we can do it as soon as possible to relieve the tension," he said.

He said post offices throughout Tangerang were awaiting instructions from headquarters in Jakarta.

"I have organized a meeting with the local administration, as well as district and subdistrict officials. The problem is, there hasn't been any information from the East Jakarta post office," Syamsul said.

Three killed in police-theft gang shootouts in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Three were killed when police officers involved in shootouts with members of an empty house theft gang near the Sudirman overpass in Tangerang municipality on Thursday morning.

Tangerang Metro police detective chief Comr. Budhi Herdi Susisanto said the incident began when the gang members tried to steal a Kijang minivan in a house left empty in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta at about 2 a.m.

“The gang escaped before they managed to steal the car because they were aware of being observed by two officers of the Pesanggrahan subprecinct police who were sitting on a motorcycle,” Budhi said.

The two officers chased the gang with the motorycle until Cileduk area but they lost the Kijang minivan there.

Budi said, minutes later, his officers were informed that the gang members had made off with cash of Rp 780,000 and two cellular phones they stole from a soybean store still in Cileduk.

“CCTV installed at the store recorded and identified the faces of the gang members before they turned it off,” he said.

The gang then also tried to steal in a travel agent office which also functions as a motorcycle dealer on Jl. Boulevard Graha Raya Regency, in Kunciran district, Tangerang municipality.

“The thieves then escaped to Jl. KH. Hasyim Ashari after they realized that security officers at the complex were aware of their presence,” he said.

When the gang arrived at Usadi Insani Hospital in Cipondoh, two officers identified them and tried to chase the car.

“Since it was difficult to stop the car, the two officers produced warning shots but the gang members replied with repeated shots so that shootouts was inevitable,” Budhi said.

Officers then shot driver identified as Ujang so that the uncontrolled LGX Kijang Minivan B 7838 MI then crossed the median and hit a passing motorcycle belonging to Gatot Raharjo, a resident of Jl. Angin Pusar, West Semper district, North Jakarta. Gatot died instantly at the scene.

After the car stopped, officers shot two other gang member identified as Lukman and Imron for trying to escape. Lukman died but Imron managed to escape with a motorcycle belonging to Tusiran, a local resident.

Two other members of the gang identified as Erik, 20 and Asmin, 45 finally surrendered after officers’ bullet injured them to their back.

Officers seized an FN Postol, eight active bullets and two cellular phones, a crossbar and a letter T key from the thieves as evidence.

“The gang members are all residivists of Cirebon Prison and they had specified empty houses/buildings as target of their crime,” Budhi said.

Boy Iskandar, an eye witness at the shootouts scene said that he was having breakfast when he heard sound of repeated shots.

“I thought it was just the sound of broken car tire because the shot sound was just like a blowing tire but when I looked out, I saw two men trying to escape toward different directions from the car,” he said.

He said one of the men fell on ground after officer shot him while another one managed to escape after pointing his gun to a motorcyclist.

“I also saw the car hit a passing motorcycle and the dead rider was flanked between the car and his motorcycle,” he added.

Honoris Hopital imployees striked

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Hundreds of imployees of Honoris Hospital, grouped under the Indonesian Properous Workers Unions Federation (FSBSI 92) began strike on Thursday in protest to the hospital management’s failure to fulfil their normative rights.

The imployees comprising nurses, administrative and general affair staffs, dispensary and others units sat down in order, listened to orations and sang songs together under a tent they erected right in front of lobby in the hospital compound at Modern Land housing estate in Tangerang municipality.

“We strike because the hospital management Modern Group failed to fulfill a joint agreement that it signed along with FSBSI 92 at the Tangerang municipal Manpower Agency office on April 4,” the hospital’s FSBSI chairman Agus Wiro told the Jakarta Post.

He said some 500 imployees who are currently working for the hospital delivered demands on the normative rights to the management through a series of rallies they held in July last year.

The rallies ended after the Tangerang municipal Manpower Agency facilitated a tripartite meeting that ended in the signing of a joint agreement in which the management had agreed to fulfil imployees’ normative rights starting May 1.

“One month has passed and so far there are no signs that the management will fulfil its promises. Therefore we go on strike,” he said.

He said the imployees had also asked Tangerang mayor Wahidin Halim, the municipal council and the Manpower Agency to help remediate the workers with the management but to no avail.

“Even the Manpower Agency head Adang Turwana had said that the law No. 13/2003 on Manpower was grew (unclerar) therefore he said he could not help mediate us,” he said.

Meanwhile F.M. Gomes, FSBSI Advocacy chairman said that hospital management had been incooperative with the municipal council because it did not attend council’s invitation to discuss the matters.

“We are wondering what actually has happened. Where do we have to ask for protection for our rights,” he said.

He said the imployees were also surprised by rumors that the hospital management had been taken over by Mayapada Health Group and when imployees asked for confirmation, the hospital management said not yet.

“Imployees’ restlessness increased when the management announced two options on April 21. The two options imply dismissal for imployees,” he said.

The first option says that if imployees are willing to join with the new management under Mayapada Group, they will be given a one-month salary as severance but they will have to reapply for job and start working from zero year should they could pass a series of test.

The second option says if imployees refuse to join with the new management, the old management would pay them two months salary.

“The two options means that all imployees will end in a dismissal although we have to go through this way,” he said.

Unfortunately, none of the Modern Group management staff members could found at the hospital to be asked for comments as the imployees said that they have gone missing.

Unregistered public minivans stop operating after attacks on drivers

Multa Fidrus and Mustaqim Adamrah , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang, Jakarta Wed, 05/21/2008 10:44 AM City

Unregistered public minivan drivers have stopped taking passengers from Tangerang to Kalideres bus station in West Jakarta following attacks on several drivers Monday.

None of the minivans were seen at their usual pool near a sluice gate on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Chief of the bus terminal post Adj. First Insp. R. Danu Sugito said conditions were returning to normal with the absence of the unregistered public minivans.

"Vehicles with black license plates are clearly not allowed to take passengers. They are illegal," he said Tuesday.

Dozens of registered minivan drivers serving the Tangerang-Kalideres route attacked two illegal public minivan drivers at the bus terminal on Monday.

The drivers made similar attacks last Saturday and, according to police, were angry the illegal minivans were still operating.

There was one reported casualty Monday, although police have not made any arrests.

The two groups that offer similar routes have been involved in disputes and brawls for years, but the Jakarta and Tangerang administrations have not been able to resolve the problem.

Head of Tangerang municipality's transportation agency Erlan Rusnarlan said after the two brawls the municipal administration would consider registering the illegal minivans as long as the Jakarta administration allowed them to do so.

He said only the Jakarta administration had the authority to legalize the public minivans for those particular routes.

"I have sent written and verbal requests to the Jakarta administration three times this year saying it's better to just accommodate the unregistered vehicles to avoid more problems emerging among drivers, but there has been no response at all," he said.

The Jakarta administration said there would be no more small public transportation vehicles in line with a gubernatorial decree prioritizing larger transportation systems, such as the busway.

Secretary of Jakarta council's Commission B on economic affairs Nurmansjah Lubis said the Jakarta Transportation Agency had ignored the city council's calls to settle disputes among drivers of legal and illegal public minivans operating in Greater Jakarta.

"The agency should consider registering the illegal public minivans if the city lacks public transportation serving the route between Jakarta and Tangerang."

Nurmansjah said the agency had also failed to provide the commission with the number of minivans serving the route, leaving the commission unable to calculate how many were required.
Dozens were injured on the Saturday brawl on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta.

The brawl cleared after hundreds of police officers arrived, firing repeated shots, and left several minivans in serious damage.(uwi)

Dozens injured as minivan drivers brawl

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Mon, 05/19/2008 11:50 AM City

Dozens were injured Saturday following a massive brawl between two groups of drivers of public minivans on Jl. Daan Mogot in Tangerang, Banten.

The brawl cleared after hundreds of police officers arrived, firing repeated warning shots, and left several minivans in serious damage.

The brawl was an escalation of a number of previous fights between drivers involved in a turf war.

There are two groups of drivers serving the route between Jakarta and Tangerang. One group say they have the rights to the route because their public minivans have been registered with the administration and have yellow registration plates.

The other group comprise unregistered vehicle drivers who operate private vehicles, with conventional black plates.

Rusli, 38, a registered public minivan driver, said the unregistered group had reduced his daily income because they ply the same routes each day.

"We have to compete for passengers ... The unregistered minivans make the competition tougher," he said.

H. Madi, 49, chairman of the unregistered minivan drivers association asked the related agencies to handle the case quickly.

"With the prolonged conflicts we cannot earn money. We have worked as minivan drivers for more than 10 years -- long before the administration issued licenses for registered minivans. Why now should they regard us as the enemy?" Madi asked.

He said the drivers of unregistered public minivans would not know how to feed their families if the conflicts continued.

Rumors about the brawl began to spread on Friday, saying that two trucks carrying drivers of registered public minivans would attack their competitors at Kebon Besar, in Tangerang. However nothing happened that day.

On Saturday morning, however, drivers from the unregistered group held a strike, parking their vans along the main road and marching together to Tangerang Police headquarters.

On the way, Tangerang traffic police chief Insp. Tommy Wibisono intercepted the drivers and asked them to lodge their complaints with the municipal transportation agency.
But the drivers chose to continue their rally to the police office.

When they arrived at Kebon Besar, however, dozens of registered drivers were waiting and hurled rocks at them.

The unregistered group retaliated and dozens were injured, but none of the injured drivers were taken to hospital.

Chairman of the Tangerang chapter of Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), Syamsudin, said the conflict was perpetuated because the local administration had been indecisive.

He called on the administration to accomodate the unregistered public minivans and to register them.

"I think this is the only solution. Otherwise the conflicts will continue," he said.

Tangerang municipal transportation agency head Erlan Rusnarlan said the agency would soon discuss possible solutions to the problem of unregistered public minivans with related parties including Organda, the police and the driver associations.

"I cannot decide whether to give permits to the unregistered public minivans myself ... so we need to discuss this further at a meeting next week," he said.

State Islamic University gets new IT center

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Mon, 05/19/2008 11:50 AM City

The Information and Communications Ministry on Friday initiated the construction of a technology training center at the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah campus in Ciputat, Tangerang.

The center would function as a training facility for experts in IT and would be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, the ministry says.

"We hope the center can forge professional human resources in communication and information technology," Information and Communications Minister Muhamad Nuh said at the official commencement of construction ceremony at the campus on Friday.

A similar training center was also being built in Bekasi, West Java, Nuh said.

The Rp 200 billion (US$21 million) UIN project is being financed by the central government with a loan from the South Korean government through the Economic Development Corporation Fund.

Also at the ceremony was Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni, UIN rector Komarudin Hidayat and South Korean Telecommunications Corporation president Kim Han-suk.

Nuh said the management and operation of the training center would be entrusted to the UIN Syarif Hidayatullah staff.

"We will use the center to train experts and researchers in information technology for government institutions, state enterprises and the private sector," he said.

The five-story building is being built on a one-hectare block of land and will be equipped with modern technological facilities including lecture and seminar rooms, video conference equipment, e-learning and computer laboratories, a library and a workshop.

The center plans to offer training to cover basic information and communication technology, web development, IT administration, network engineering and multimedia.

Al Husna students gear up to meet auto demands

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Sun, 05/11/2008 12:35 PM Discover

For most families with a low income, finding and funding the right education for their children - particularly sons - is frequently a hard thing to do.

The best option is to find vocational high school that produces graduates who are ready to join the workforce. Unfortunately, not many vocational schools can guarantee that their graduates will be accepted to the formal sector.

But hope is available for parents through SMK Otomotive Al Husna in Tangerang municipality - it is the only vocational high school that specializes in four-wheel and two-wheel automotive engines.

Students at Al Husna do not even have to wait until they graduate to get a job in the automotive sector, because they can moonlight at an auto shop after school and pay their own tuition with the money they earn there to ease their parents' financial burden.

Fifteen year-old Ikhlas Kurniawan, a first-year student at the school, already earns at least Rp 25,000 (US$2.70) every day from half a day's work at a motorcycle repair shop in Poris Plawad subdistrict, where he lives with his parents.

"I can cover my school fees, and since moonlighting at the workshop, I no longer need to ask my parents for money for my other needs," said Ikhlas, who has been at the school for just seven months.

He and 36 other classmates major in two-wheel automotive engines (2W), while more than 400 students at the school focus on four-wheel automotive engines (4W).

"Just in the first semester of the first year, I learned all the necessary basic skills in two-wheel automative engines through a hands-on learning process," he said.

Meanwhile, 17 year-old Kriswanto Oktavianus, a third-year student at Al Husna, said that he had also been recruited to work at an auto shop near his home in Kuta Bumi, Pasar Kemis district.

"I have been working for almost one year at the auto shop, and make Rp 900,000 each month" he said.

Like all his classmates, Oktavianus was first sent to the shop by his school as an apprentice. After just one week of training on the job, and the owner asked him to work part-time because he did much better than the senior mechanics there.

"I am so grateful because I can ease my parents' burden," said Oktavianus, who works at the auto shop from 1-5 p.m. every day.

This is part of the reason why Mahfud, 41, a vendor who sells chicken porridge daily on Jl. Garuda, Batu Ceper, sent his 14 year-old son Muhamad Agung to study at the school.

"What little people' like me hope from our son is certainly that he can work soon after he graduates from high school, and the vocational school offers promising opportunities for a good future for my son," said Mahfud.

Mahfud said his son was already able to remove all components of a motorcycle engine, the tires, the brake and the carburetor and then refitting them - skills learned within just seven months at the school.

According Ari Aryadi, the training manager at Al Husna, students enjoy all kinds of learning activities at the school because they only use 30 percent of the school day in classrooms and the remaining 70 percent in the school workshop for practicum or in job training at Suzuki dealerships.

He said Al Husna currently runs 11 4W classes and one 2W class every year, and has a total of 469 students from Years 1 through 3. On average, each class has between 35 and 45 students.

"Students in the third year are also taught computer skills, English conversation and general knowledge of religious values to support them in developing good performance and good work ethics," said Ari.

A bank of mechanics The automotive vocational school was established in 1997 by the Al Husna Foundation, and has a practicum syllabus in accordance with the national education curriculum.

Even with its limited facilities, the school building's poor condition, the lack of a library and inadequately equipped workshop, Al Husna still produced some 2,500 mechanics since its establishment.

"Main automotive distributors in the country only think of how to scramble for a piece of the market, jack up sales and increase benefits. They don't show any care for education and the increasing needs of mechanics," said Amal Herawan, the principal and founder of the school who also works as a multimedia staffer for the Tangerang municipality's information office.

One day in 1996, Amal stood on Jl. Windu Karya and counted the passing vehicles.

"In a single minute, 120 motorcycles and 30 cars drove by. This means that future demand for 2W automotive mechanics would be much higher" than for 4W auto mechanics, he recalled.

This observation, and his belief that not many vocational schools produced skillful graduates ready to face the challenges of a rapidly growing of automotive industry, inspired him to found the vocational school.

The automotive school never received financial assistance from the Tangerang administration, so it came as a surprise when Suzuki's main distributor PT Indomobil began to pay attention to its survival.

"In 2005, we began to collaborate with Suzuki's Training and Service Department," said Amal. "Suzuki built a spacious workshop equipped with all needed facilities, and contributed to opening the 2W class."

But another challenge quickly arose: "The problems we are facing are that we can't keep up with the rapid development in automotive technology, especially four-wheel vehicles, and neither can we afford to provide new engine models for students' practicum in the workshop," he said.

Al Husna thus came up with the solution to use multimedia technology in introducing new engine components, their functions and their workings, as well as new auto models, to students through video clips and slides.

"We apply an integrated curriculum that follows automotive industry standards, so that our graduates will not only work as subordinates, but will play an important role at work and jobs will be waiting for them," Amal added.

He said most parents send their children to the school with hopes that they will be able to find work soon after finishing their studies.

"If some of our graduates' parents happen to have savings and allocate some of their money to open a workshop for their sons, this means that they are helping to create jobs. At the same time, this also contributes towards the increasing importance that mechanics will hold for automotive producers.

"We aspire to be a bank of skillful mechanics," Amal said.

Tangerang speeds up bureaucratic process

The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Fri, 05/16/2008 City

TANGERANG: In an attempt to cut red-tape procedures in obtaining permits and documents, the Tangerang regent administration has established a one-stop service agency called the Integrated Permit Service Body (BPPT).

"BPPT will likely start serving in July if all related agencies dealing with permit matters support the establishment of the new body," BPPT head HM. Hidayat said Wednesday.

"We hope BPPT can provide quick and easy services to all community members," he said.

The body would handle all kinds of permits, such as building permits, birth certificates and adoption certificates. Multa Fidrus-JP

Why did you do that?

Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiah talks to some suspests in drug smuggling cases at the Soekarno-Hatta Inernational Airport after the confiscated drugs were destroyed by airport authority on Thursday. The suspect are eight Taiwanese, three Malaysian, a Thai woman and an Englishman. Multa Fidrus

Authority destroys drugs at airport

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Authorities at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport destroyed drugs allegedly worth more than Rp 118 billion on Thursday.

Airport Excise and Customs chief Rahmat Subagio said the drugs were found in plane passengers luggages and delivery packages between February 20 and May 13.

He said the drugs consisted of 485,40 grams of cocaine, 22,020,16 grams of shabu-shabu ( crystal methamphetamine) which was confiscated by customs officers in eight smuggling attempts from Hong Kong into the country.

“We have handed down 10 of 16 suspects in the smuggling cases to the police for further legal process,” he said.
The common modus used by the smugglers in their attempts to smuggle the drugs was that they wrapped the drug in aluminium foil bags and food containers before putting them in their luggages and water filter tubes.

Officers also destroyed 8,387 ectasy pills seized from ten drug delivery cases through the cargo warehouse packages between Jan 14 and May 5.

However, we are still investigating some aspects of the cases in cooperation with the National Narchotics Body to disclose the wider networks of the international drug syndicates,” he said.

The drug smuggling suspects arrested at the airport consisted of eight Taiwanese, Three Malaysians, two Thai Women, an Englishman and two Indonesians.

The ectasy pills were seized from ten domestic delivery packages through airport cargo warehouse but none of suspects was arrested in this cases as further investigation into the cases were handed over the police in the respective destination.

“The packages were reported as containing food and handicrafts were to be sent to several cities such as Pontianak , Banjarmasin , Balik Papan in Kalimantan , Sidoarjo in Eat Java, Jambi, and Tebing Tinggi in North Sumatra ,” he said.

He said drug smuggling attempts could be foiled at the airport with the assistance of the Airport Interdiction Task Force, which is made up of the police, customs, PT Angkasa Pura II security staff, Immigration and airport administration.

Present during the destruction were Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiah, Banten Provincial Customs and Excise chief Bachtiar, Secretary General of Granat Ahshar Suryobroto, Banten Ganat executive board board chairman singer Benny Panjaitan, Banten Narchotics Body chief HM. Masduki, Airport executive general manager Haryanto, Tangerang’s head prosecutors Agus Sutoto, and airport police chief Sr. Comr. Guntur Setyanto.

Governor Ratu Atut Chosiah said that drug smuggling attempts had threatened the stability of national security, economy and the society health.

“We have to make a synergy in efforts to fight drugs smuggling attempts into the country and drug abuse and I am ready to work hand in hand in order that we can eradicate drug abuses,” she said.

She said efforts to fight drug abuses could start from home, neighbourhood unit, community unit, subdistrict, district in order to give a detterrent effect against drug smuggling and drug abuses.

Meanwhile, airport police chief Sr. Comr. Guntur Setyanto said he noticed that drugs smuggling attempt through the airport began to increase since December.

“Drug syndicate utilize our weaknesses to take opportunity to smuggle drugs into the country and therefore I call on all of us to collaborate because drugs has become the nations’ problems,” he said.

Customs foild drug smugglings fom Macao

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Customs and excise officers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport again foiled smuggling attempts of 2.3 kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal methampethamine) and 400 grams of catamine from Hong kong into the country.

They also arrested two Taiwanese identified as Chao Peng Chi, 39, and Chen Kuo Sung, 50, along with the evidence allegedly worth Rp 7.9 billion in street market.

Rahmat Subagio, airport customs office chief said the suspects arrived at the airport at midnight on Tuesday on board Viva Macao ZG 101 flight.

"Officers always observed all passengers profiles and they became suspicious when the two suspects, who did not know each other looked nervous. Our officers at the checking point reported that they found strange objects in passengers’s stride and luggages," he said.

Officers then asked the suspects to open the luggages and found snack boxes and cans containing the drug wrapped in several aluminium foil bags.

Officers also examined Chao Peng Chi's body and found a bag of shabu-shaby strraped to his stride.

Both suspects who claimed to have never visited the country before said that they were asked by a man called Aseng to carry the drug to Jakarta and someone would pick them up at the airport upon their arrival.

Chao Peng Chi and Chen Kuo Sung testified that they were promised 15,000 Yuan after they submited the drug to someone in Jakarta.

Eko Darmanto, cihef of intelligence at the customs office said officers have focused attention on all passengers arriving from high-risk countries for drug smuggling routes such as Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia and drug resources conutries such as Macao and Latin American countries.

"Drug smuggling attempts, especially from Hong Kong is an extra ordinary threat because we have repeatedly foiled drug smuggling attempts from Hong Kong since January," he said, ading that this was the seventh drug smuggling attempt that customs officers have foiled this year.

He said customs office had arrested a total of 16 suspects in the drug smuggling attempts foiled since in January. The suspects consisted of 8 Taiwanese, 3 Chinese Malaysians, 2 Thai women, an English man and 2 Indonesians.

The suspects had been handed down to the airport police for furhter investigations and legal process.

"We are just authorized to foil drug smuggling attempts at the airport but disclose wider networks and the drug syndicate is the responsibility of the National Drugs Body," Eko added.

Chao Peng Chi who is in violation of the 1997 psychotropic subtance law will likely face a maximum punishement of a ten-year imprisonment with fines of Rp 300 million while Chen Kuo Sung wil be charged of violating Article 81 of the 1992 law on health. The article carries a maximum puishment of a seven-year jail term.

Four men nabbed for gambling at airport

TANGERANG: The police arrested Monday four businessmen who were gambling at the Swarna Golf Course restaurant in the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport compound, police said Tuesday.

In the beginning, airport police detective chief Insp. Taufik Hidayat first said the four suspects were of Japanese nationality. But later in the day, he changed his statement, saying the suspects were all Indonesians.

"We are still questioning the suspects for further examination," Taufik said Tuesday.
Taufik said officers seized a set of dominoes from the scene, US$100 and Rp 8.5 million (US$923) in cash.

Taufik said the raid at the Swarna Golf Course was held following a tip-off from visitors who told the police "some Japanese men were openly gambling" at the restaurant.

"I suspect they are professional gamblers. They put in a lot of money as the stake. All of them drove Mercedes Benz cars to the airport," he said.

He said the suspects would be charged with violating the Criminal Code on gambling. The relevant article carries a maximum punishment of four years' imprisonment. Multa/JP

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Tower constructions sealed over permits

TANGERANG: Public order officers sealed Tuesday a communication tower construction site in Teluk Naga district, Tangerang regency, which was being built without the required permits from the local administration.

Ferry Zulfian, a public order official, said the administration had given written and verbal warnings to the tower's management, PT Karunia Berca Indonesia, in Cikini, Central Jakarta, about the absence of the required permits.

"For such construction, the management must possess an environmental disturbance permit from the communication agency as well as a business and building permit from the settlement agency," he said.

Zulfian said the recommended maximum height for such a tower was 42 meters. However, Karunia's tower stood at 52 meters.

"We will also seal dozens of similar towers that have been erected across the regency without required permits," he said.

More than a dozen men working at the site stood by and watched when officers arrived and sealed the site.

Buchori, one of the workers, said they had begun working at the 10 by 12 meter tower site last month and had almost finished construction.

Muhamad H.P, a local figure, said the tower's management did not tell locals about any safety measures they had taken.

"The tower's management handed Rp 100,000 in cash to each of the 40 families living nearby," he said. Multa/JP

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UIN students took street in protest to fuel price increase

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

More than 500 of students grouped under the State Islamic Universiiy (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah's Students Executive Body (BEM) took the street in Ciputat, Tangerang on Monday to reject the govermnment's policy to increase fuel prices.

The protesting students, grouped under the UIN Syarif Hidayatullah's Students Executive Body (BEM) began the rally by gathering at their campus at about 8 a.m. They delivered their stance on the government's plan to raise fuel price in orations alternately.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and vice President Jusul Kalla are both cowards. They failed to fulfill their promises to improve poeple's welfare and it's time to move together," one of the students said.

"If we just stay silent, it means we die. So, let's move along with BEMs from across the country and demand the President and the Vice President over their initial committment," said another student.

After delivering orations for two hours inside their campus, the students then moved to a fuel station near the Sandratex complex on Jl. Raya Ciputat.

They blocked the way into and occupied the fuel station for more than one hour and again delivered orations there, allowing no cars or motorcycle to enter the station to buy gasoline.

After spending more than an hour at the fuel station, the students who rode in a dozens of buses then moved in convoy to Jl. MH. Thamrin in central Jakarta to join other BEM members from all over Idonesia to do a long march to the state palace to deliver the rejection.

"We will meet with other BEM members from across the country at Jl. MH. Thamrin and we will hold a long march to the Presidential palace to to deliver rejection on the goverment's policy to increase fuel prices," said Dhony, the UIN Syarif Hidayatulah's BEM chairman, adding that should the government fail to repond to the rejection, BEM would stage another rally in larger number of protesters on May 20.

"SBY-JK's decision to hike fuel prices is not the only way to reduce the subsidy from the state budget and therefore we, the Unity of Islamic Students Action (KAMMI) and Lembaga Dakwah Kampus of the UIN Syarfi Hidayatullah declared that we reject the fuel increase," KAMMI chariman Rico Candra said.

He said that fuel prices increase will leave inflation impacts because the increase will automatically trigger increase in all prodcution cost that will in turn also spark increase of all prices.

"We believe that fuel increase will cause many small busineses to go bankrupt and this will create new imployement in informal sectors," he added.

ABSENCE OF SWIMMING POOL

ABSENCE OF SWIMMING POOL: Children enjoy swimming at Irrigation Canal Kali Sipon on Jl. TMP Taruna inTangerang municipality. Absence of swimming pool near the neighbourhood forces the children to swim in the heavy-polluted water, neglecting possibility of being enfected with various skin deseases. Multa Fidrus

Subsidized rice distribution stalled

TANGERANG: The administration of Tangerang regency has fallen four monthsbehind in delivering subsidized rice to poor residents and only six of 36 districts in the region received their allocation last month.

Distribution of the subsidized rice was delayed because it had been channeled through the subdistrict and village offices, which had made the procedure more complicated, head of the regency's Social Agency Bambang Siswoyo said.

"The rice could only be delivered to one district each day," he said.
Rice was previously given to residents through district offices.

Bambang said he would evaluate and improve the distribution chain for the next delivery.
The agency is scheduled to distribute rice in four districts next week.

The schedule includes deliveries to 6,333 families in Mekar Baru, 6,215 families in Curug, 7,520 families in Sepatan Timur and 12,008 families in Teluknaga.

Each family will receive 10 kilograms of subsidized rice. The amount will be increased to 15 kilograms per family for the next delivery, Bambang said. Multa/JP

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District chiefs questioned on rice graft case

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Tangerang prosecutors will examine all district chiefs across the municipality next week for their alleged roles in a graft case involving subsidized rice for poor residents.

"We will examine 13 district chiefs from Monday to Thursday because we believe they have received money from suspect Utun Sobari, the municipal People Empowerment Body head," Rahmat Haryanto, chief of special crime at the prosecutors office, said Friday.

Prosecutors named Utun Sobari a suspect last month involving Rp 200 million (US$21,700) earmarked for a team to monitor the distribution of subsidized rice.

The Rp 200 million from the 2007 budget was allegedly distributed by Sobari to district and subdistrict chiefs before the team's formation.

Rahmat said prosecutors were committed to processing the graft case in all districts and subdistricts both in Tangerang regency and municipality.

He said prosecutors would also continue to investigate another suspected graft case in the distribution of the subsidized rice to residents in Tangerang regency and has so far arrested seven suspects.

In March, prosecutors detained Sukadiri district chief Lizia Sobandi and two of his staff members for selling the subsidized rice on the market.

Two other suspects were also detained for knowingly purchasing the subsidized rice.

Between August and December 2007, the suspects sold the rice for Rp 3,000 per kilogram -- Rp 2,000 more than its subsidized price. The government had bought the rice for Rp 4,500 per kilogram and sold 32 tons a month to Sukadiri district for Rp 1,000.

It was estimated the officials involved made Rp 77 million from the sale of 224 tons of rice.
Last month, prosecutors also detained Teluk Naga district secretary Tajudin and his staff member Syaripudin.

Tajudin and Syaripudin were accused of having abused their positions and amassed Rp 549 million from selling subsidized rice. It was reported the rice was sold at Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,500 a kilogram within two months.

All suspects are now being detained in the Tangerang Youth Penitentiary while awaiting trial at the district court.

"So far, there haven't been any new suspects. But we are examining Soma Atmaja, the Pagendangan district chief, as a witness in the case," Rahmat said.

Lizia Sobandi's lawyer, Deden Syukron, said he had filed a house arrest request for his client but prosecutors were yet to respond.

"As of today, we are still waiting and we don't know whether prosecutors will grant the request or not," he said at the prosecutors office.

The irregularities in the distribution of the subsidized rice were first exposed through media releases made by local non-government organization Forum Lintas Pelaku. Prosecutors followed up the reports with an investigation.

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Joy Ride

JOY RIDE: Would-be airline passengers ride a Marines truck through a flooded toll road to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, on Thursday. The flood, the second so far this year, was triggered by a high tide in nearby Jakarta Bay, which smashed flood dikes along the road. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Tidal flood wreaks havoc on flight plans

Multa Fidrus and Tifa Asrianti

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta, Tangerang Fri, 05/09/2008 Headlines

A tidal flood Thursday morning saw the temporary closure of the toll road between Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Jakarta, resulting in dozens of flight delays.

Toll operator PT Jasa Marga began to close the main access road to the airport from Jakarta at 6 a.m. after an embankment collapsed, overflowing with tidewater.

Airport executive general manager Haryanto said delays were inevitable and all airlines had agreed to accommodate late-arriving passengers due to flooding at kilometers 26 and 27 of the Sedyatmo toll road.

"Passengers don't need to worry because tickets will not be expired and those who missed their flights today can get refunds," he said.

The toll road was inundated with sea water as deep as 120 centimeters in the morning. A six-meter-long embankment on the north side of the road collapsed at 3 a.m. on Thursday.

Airport Police chief Sr. Comr. Guntur Setyanto said 386 officers were deployed to help evacuate passengers from the flooded toll road.

Motorists were diverted to alternative routes to the airport, causing severe traffic jams in Tangerang municipality. A two-kilometer-long queue formed along Jl. Jend. Sudirman heading to Jl. Daan Mogot and Jl. Pembangunan.

The Traffic Management Center reported the water ebbed at around 5 p.m., allowing cars to pass. Jasa Marga opened the toll road for free from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

To lessen the impact, Jasa Marga used thousands of sandbags to temporarily support the collapsed embankment. Proper reconstruction will take at least two days, a company official said.
"Our short-term solution is to strengthen the embankment with sandbags so that it can withstand the tidal flood," Jasa Marga corporate secretary Okke Marlina said.

She said the company was in the midst of constructing an elevated lane from Jakarta to the airport. Upon finishing the lane, it would repair the embankment and construct another elevated lane from the airport to Jakarta.

Jasa Marga began construction of the elevated lane in late March. The project will cost Rp 260 billion (US$28.2 million) and is expected to be finished this year.

The new lanes will stand 60 centimeters to two meters higher than the current ones, said Okke.
Deputy Governor Prijanto said the city would construct seven embankments to protect North Jakarta residents from high tides. Due to Thursday's tides, dozens of residents of the coastal area had to leave their homes.

Prijanto said the city was not responsible for the embankment, which was Jasa Marga's.

Families find comfort amid unhealthy modern life

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Sunday, 04/27/2008 12:48 PM Discover

Rossana, 55, has been living in a BSD housing complex for almost nine years. So far, she is happy. When she decided to live in a house in aneighborhood" rather than in an apartment, it was not because she did not enjoy living in her apartment in Jakarta.

"I like mingling with people in the community and I also want to live outside (the capital). First, I was so worried of the unknown here, but this place really made it easy for me to adjust," she told the Post.

Rossana said she loves traditional foods and she can now find them easily at Taman Jajan in BSD, Tangerang. "Everything we need is here, and frankly speaking, this is better than any other neighborhood I have ever lived in," said Rossana, who is a widow of five years with three children.

She currently lives with her youngest daughter and grandson. Her grandson is constantly by her side at their home in the Nusaloka complex.

Her eldest son lives in South Jakarta and her eldest daughter lives with her Australian husband in Sydney.

Yayat Chudori, 34, another BSD resident, had a different reason when he decided to move here years ago.

Asked what he liked most about BSD, the father of one daughter replied: the green environment, public facilities, neighbourhood security system and comfortable climate.

"There are two public swimming pools in BSD. One Olympic-sized pool located at Damai Golf and one smaller one at Taman Jajan. I also like it because this is a broad area. We have streets, parks, playgrounds, supermarkets, shopping malls, schools, hospitals,"*he said.

At his complex, Yayat said, residents held a barbecue picnic once a month:bring our food and gather at the park.nice."

Yayat and his wife Milawati, 31, apparently have no complaints at all to make of the neighbourhood, albeit one.

Our house is beautiful enough, although it's not large enough," said Milawati.

The majority of BSD residents are families (95 percent), and single residents comprise 5 percent.
Yayat recommends BSD as the best community for young professional families with young children.

"The kind of life you have here is different from any other neighborhood. It's not like living in a fancy complex," he added, implying that BSD was an area of neighborhoods where residents shared a strong sense of community.

BSD' Popular Hangout

A popular hangout for those with hankering for a bite to eat, the Taman Jajan food center in BSD, Tangerang, offers a variety of foods for every palate. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Breath of BSD

Residents of BSD take a breather on benches at Taman Kota I, a public park and lung of the satellite city in Tangerang regency. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

BSD shifts dreams to 'satellite' education center

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Sun, 04/27/2008 Discover

After its success at keeping its dreams on track in developing some 1,500 hectares into a "self-sustaining city" within 20 years,*Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) - the key property developer of the same-name district in Tangerang - now has another dream: to become a satelite city of education.

Residents of BSD take a breather on benches at Taman Kota I, a public park and lung of the satellite city in Tangerang regency. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

"So far, only Atmajaya Catholic University has confirmed it will build a new campus in BSD, while negotiations with four other noted universities are still under way," BSD marketing director Rano Jap told The Jakarta Post recently.

He said BSD had started building infrastructure such as access roads and bridges to a 1,000-hectare plot on the western banks of the Cisadane River, which is to house educational centers, residential areas and a new central business district. Each zoning division is to represent a separate theme.

Rano said BSD was committed to its initial principle that every development must be better than the previous oneand without ignoring the environmentally friendly development concept it had implemented since the outset.

"As the pioneering self-sustaining city developer in the country, BSD is not merely real estate, but a city of communities that have been well-planned and well-structured in the hands of international, master city planners," he said.

Rano claimed BSD's current expansion project to be the largest among similar property projects ever developed in Greater Jakarta. The western development is expected to be completed within six years.

The potential relocation of the five universities will undoubtedly cement BSD's educational brand image, as the satelite city is already home to several international schools, such the Swiss German Unversity (SGU), the Deutsche International Schule (DIS), Bina Nusantara University and the Banten Nursing Academy.*

"Besides that, there are dozens of kindergartens, 25 elementary schools, 19 junior high schools and 14 senior high schools here," said Rano.

According to him, the BSD master plan is in line with the Tangerang administration's plans to build a new turnpike from BSD to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and an alternative access road that will link BSD with the Jakarta-Merak turnpike, via Gading Serpong and Lippo Karawaci.

"Therefore, we are optimistic that our dreams of a satelite city that is also a center of education will materialize, and that this will open great opportunities for future investment in education," he added.

Of course, a self-sustaining city should not only comprise public facilities such as roads, shopping malls, a transportation system, parks, schools, hospitals, sports arenas and family recreation and entertainment venues, but also must provide a sustainable, rising living standard that can be inherited by the future generation.

" BSD is always developing innovations to support the quality life and fulfill all human needs," said BSD corporate communications general manager Idham Muchlis.

Under management of the Sinar Mas Group, Idham said that BSD -which is located some 30 kilometers west of Jakartahad revised its plans for a satelite city into developing an integrated area of economic growth, education and job opportunities.

"BSD has been designed to meet all the needs of its residents, including housing, office buildings and jobs, so there will be no need to commute to other areas (of Greater Jakarta) to earn a living," Idham said.

Launched in January 1989, BSD covers 6,000 hectares of land, some 1,500 hectares (25 percent) of which has been developed into East BSD, comprising residential housing complexes, warehousing areas and business districts.

The city, which could be reached only via the Jakarta-Merak turnpike previously, has become more strategic since the opening of the Serpong-Pondok Indah turnpike in 2006 and the double-track railway last year.

"So far, we have built 25,000 houses and 90 percent of them are occupied by some 100,000 people," said Idham, adding that the target development is 150,000 houses to accommodate 600,000 people.

New houses in the city range fom standard to medium and excellent types at the Taman Telaga Golf, Victoria River Park, Taman Provence, Vermont, The Green and De Latinos housing complexes, with prices*ranging from Rp 360 million (US$39,000) up to Rp 3 billion ($326,000).

The ongoing property developent project includes the Sinar Mas World Schools, the Green Cove, Foresta and Sevilla complexes, Eka International Hospital, Bidex - commercial shop houses for interior design and constructiona cyber-green office complex, a public park and wide pedestrian walkways, as well as*high-speed broadband and wi-fi coverage, all located next to the German Center on Jl. Raya Serpong.

"Big shopping malls such as ITC, BSD Junction, BSD Plasa, Modern Market, the newly opened Ocean Park Water Adventure ... athletic club houses and the 18-hole Damai Indah Golf court, designed by American architect Jack Niklaus, are all built according to the family recreation and entertainment concept," Idham said.

BSD residents have also established a number of community groups that provide a forum for sharing recreational and hobby interests, such as the Bakti Keluarga BSD, Jajan Jazz, Mountain Bikes, Decorative Plants and the Taichi Gymnastic community groups.

To prove its committment to green development, BSD has built an open green space with millions of trees.

The 2.5-hectare Taman Kota I park and the 9-hectare Taman Kota II both serve as the satellite city's lungs while offering comforatble recreational and athletic sites, including 26 artifical lakes that provide a total 23-hectare water catchement area.

"We have also built modern infrasructure such as underground electricity cables and wireless telecommunication systems ... that contribute to residents' comfortable living," said Idham.

Death row inmate gets govt award

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Tue, 04/29/2008 Headlines

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta on Monday presented an award to a death row inmate for speaking out against drugs inside the prison.

Also honored for their efforts to fight drugs inside the prison system was a guard at the Tangerang Penitentiary for Adults and another guard at the Jakarta Drugs Prison.

"We honor their success in foiling the distribution of drugs inside the prisons," Mattalatta said.
The inmate, identified as Waluyo, was sentenced to death in Lampung for murder. He was transferred to Tangerang penitentiary six months ago.

"Prisoners on death row are usually frustrated because they have lost hope for life. I convinced Waluyo that he could do something good before he dies, and he proved it by catching some inmates using drugs in their cells," warden Wawan Hendrawan told The Jakarta Post.

The ceremony, held at Tangerang penitentiary, was part of the commemoration of the 44th anniversary of National Correctional Institution Day, which fell on Sunday.

The ministry also recognized 13 correctional institutions nationwide for their performance during a monthlong good management campaign.

Among the institutions honored was Balikpapan Penitentiary for Adult, the Tangerang boy's prison and Malang women's prison.

"(The program) Bulan Tertib Pemasyarakatan is not just for one month, but should be applied as a sustainable program," Minister Mattalatta said.

He said a recent survey by the Corruption Eradication Commission found that correctional institutions rank among the lowest governmental institutions in the country in terms of their public service the public's perception of them.

"It's inevitable the public has a negative opinion of correctional institutions. We will improve the performance and service quality through various efforts," he said.

He said Malang women's penitentiary in East Java is currently applying for ISO 9001-2000 certification for international standard management.

Director general for correctional institutions at the justice ministry, Untung Sugiyono, said the 13 penitentiaries honored on Monday would be re-evaluated.

"We will evaluate their performance again ... to see if they can maintain their good achievements through Independence Day (Aug. 17)," he said.

There are a total of 557 correctional institutions across the country. They consist of 224 prisons, 201 detention centers, 70 correctional centers and 62 storage houses for goods confiscated by the state.

Setu Antap residents forced out of their homes

Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

The Tangerang regental administration forced some 250 residents living around the bank of small lake (Setu) Antap in Rempoa subdistrict, East Ciputat district out of the their homes on Wednesday.

Escorted by dozens of officers from the South Jakarta police and Garnizun, hundreds of officers from the regency Public Order Agency public order demolished the residents’ houses after previously removing all their belongings.

The demolishion lasted peacefully although a number activists from the Unity of Students’s Anti Violence Action (Kompak) staged a rally in protest to the eviction by sitting together on the road heading to the lake bank to block a buldozer’s way.

To avoid physical collision with the protesters, officers then decided to demolish the houses manually.

“We leave it all up to the God. We have struggled through a long winding road in order that we are allowed to stay but to no avail,” said Nukman, 48, one the residents who has lived there since 1981,” told The Jakarta Post.

He said that residents were actually willing to leave the land as long as they were asked to do so by the Banten provincial Water Resources Management Center (BPSDA) that controls the land.

Accoding to Nukman, regent Ismet Iskandar issued a written order on April 17, 2007 , asking the residents to vacate the area because the land they were occupying had been bought by the late Darnelis, the mother in-law of PP Muhamadiyah’s chairman Din Samsudin.

“It’s hard to believe that the lake, a state assest had been sold to the property business women who died of heart attack in Garuda plane accident in Jogyakarta in 2006 for the expansion of the Beranda Rempoa Minimalist Town House,” he said.

Neanwhile, Bambang Setia Budi, 49, another evicted resident said that he was offered Rp 10 million in compensation but like many others, he was not willing to take the money as well.

He said that all residents living on the lake bank did realize that the land belongs to BPSDA and therefore they refused to leave their homes built on the land just for the interests of business.

“At first, residents were relieved when they heard Darnelis died in the plane accident because they thought that the eviction efforts would no longer continue but we were wrong in fact,” he said.

Joko Suryanto, BPSDA chief said that BPSDA never sold the lake to any individuals because it is the state’s asset.

“Setu Antap functions as water catchment area and the form of the small lake still exist,” he said.
However, Tolib Effendi, head of the Tangerang regental public order agency who lead the demolishion admitted that order to demolish the residents’ house was signed by regent Ismet Iskandar on April 17.

“The administration will return the function of the lake as water catchment area and this is in line with the ongoing river and lake revitalization program funded by the central government,” he said.

Effendi denied residents’ accusation, saying that the lake had been sold to the property developer.

Girl allegedly killed for resisting rape in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Residents of Pondok Betung subdistrict, Pondok Aren district, Tangerang regency were shocked after a neighbour identified as April Sulistiyowati, 20, was found dead on the bed in her bedroom at a boarding house on Tuesday.

First, they thought that the girl, who daily worked at a dispensary at Bintaro Plaza had committed suicide.

The case was then reported to the Pondok Aren subprecinct police. Officers arrived at the crime scene minutes later and examined the girl’s body.

“Initial report we received from the victim’s neighbours said that the girl had committed suicide with electric cable but our officers became suspicious because they found strangeness,” said Pondok Aren police chief Insp. Sumanta.

He said there were no marks of electric cable on the girl’s neck and other parts of her body. Neither did they find any pieces of electric cable in the bedroom.

“We then asked several neighours as witnesses and made cross-check on their testimonies until we finally could conclude that Isnan Hafid, 19, as the suspect in the murder case,” he said.

He said Isnan, the victim’s partner in cellular phones business who daily works as a welder had confessed to having murdered the girl because he could no longer reason during the interrogation.

“The suspect will be charged with violating Article 338 of the Criminal Code on eliminating other’s life,” he said.

“I killed the girl because she had frequently insulted me with bad words and I am deeply hurt,” Isnan, who was arrested four hours after the murder said.

However, Isnan’s testimony was different from the victim’s neighbour explanations.

Neighbours alleged that Isnan killed the girl after he failed to rape her because she resisted.

“The suspect once told me that he fell in love with April but unfortunately she already had a boy friend named Sulardiono,” said one of the victims’ neighbour who requested anonymity.

He also said Isnan had frequently told him that he always failed to persuade the victim for a date.

“I just happened to passed by the boarding house when I saw Isnan chatting with the victim at about 9 pm on Monday,” he said.

“Isnan tried to hold the girl’s hand but she became angry and pushed his hand roughly but I did not see what happened next,” he added.

Isnan said he was so panicked after seeing April died. He then called Sulardiono and told him that April was visiting her relatives in Deplu housing complex in Pondok Karya.

Then he asked Sulardinono to take him to April because he needed to make a cell phone business deal.

Upon arriving at the complex, April’s relatives told them that they had not seen the victim in the past two weeks.

Isnan and Sulardiono then returned to the victim’s boarding house and found the victim dead. Isnan pretended to be shocked upon seeing the body that was later sent to the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital for an autopsy.

Tangerang regency police detective chief Insp. Ade Ary refused to comment when asked about violent cases against women that ended with murder.

“I don’t want to make mistakes in answering your questions and therefore will need to learn data about similar cases first,” he told the Post.

Human skulls smuggling foiled at airport

Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Customs and excise officers at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have seized three human skull smuggled through delivery packages from Denpasar, Bali to the United Kingdom between April 12 and 22.

“The skulls were sent by three different people identified as KP, YP and TK to the same receiver identified as MS in UK,” Eko Darmanto, chief of intelligence at the customs office told media on Thursday.

Eko said the skulls which were reported as wood carving / wood mark and wrapped neatly in hard paper boxes were sent through an express mail service on April 12, 17 and 22 respectively.

“First, we thought that the skulls were archeological items that are protected by the law on cultural conservation, but examination results at the Jakarta Archeological and Museums agency confirmed that the skull were not archeologial objects,” he said.

One of the skull with dark brown color was carved over head with unclear motives, one has been modified like a Indian man’s head and another one still remain in the original shape but the color had turned brown.

“Although the skulls are not archeologial objects, but human skull delivery is banned and we will however hand down them to the police for further investigation of possible crime,” he said.

Those who intentionally digs or moves human body from the grave and take it will face a 14 months-jail term as stipulated in Article 180 of the Criminal Code.

Officers also confiscated 3 kilograms of Catamine from two Indonesian-Chinese passengers identified as Johanes Tharkan, 34, and Riky Carlie Peterson who arrived from overseas at the airport on April 26.

According to Eko, Catamine is a kind of hard medicine (obat keras) which has been banned in the United States, United Kindom and Canada and many pother countries.

However, he refused to identify the country where the drug was transported fom by the two men, saying that customs and police investigation into the case was still underway.

Airport police nab members of gangs targeting luggage

Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Wed, 04/30/2008 Headlines

Airport police announced Tuesday they had arrested several members of gangs involved in stealing passengers’ luggage from the airport parking lot and Damri shuttle buses.

Head of police at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Sr. Comr. Guntur Setyanto, said one of the gangs, known as the Sunda Indramayu group, targeted laptops carried by Damri passengers.
“We arrested two members ... they said they operated from Terminal 1 and took the shuttle bus to Gambir station or Blok M bus terminal pretending to be passengers.

“Fixing on their target, one of them switched the target’s laptop bag with a similar bag that they had prepared,” he said.

Guntur said four members of another theft gang operating at the airport, the Palembang Cengkareng group, had also been arrested.

He said all four suspected resisted arrest, forcing officers to shoot them in the legs.

He said the suspects targeted luggage in the parked cars of airport visitors or passengers, usually striking when the victims were praying in the airport’s musholla.

“They usually stole valuables from parked cars,” Guntur said, adding that the police confiscated from the suspects a Toshiba laptop, portable DVD player and a Handycam they stole from a Daihatsu Taruna jeep, and an ACER laptop from a Suzuki Sidekick jeep.

Police also arrested a suspected member of the Palembang Bekasi Timur luggage theft gang, Guntur said.

“The suspects will be charged with violating Article 363 of the Criminal Code on theft, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in jail,” he said.

In a separate case, airport police officers arrested the driver of a Manuk Mira taxi who forced a passenger to pay Rp 200,000 (US$23) for a short trip after refusing to use the taxi’s meter.

Police also rounded up 12 illegal foreign exchange traders and eight airplane ticket scalpers between April 9 and 24.

“The illegal traders were carrying Rp 89 million in 19 currencies, including U.S. dollar, real, baht, rupee, ringgit, won, pound and yuan,” Guntur said.

The police, he said, also confiscated Rp 37 million from the ticket scalpers.

“The 20 people violated Tangerang municipality’s bylaw on public order so we handed the cases over to the public order agency.”