Police brutality in Ancol reported

Indah Setiawati , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/04/2008 11:07 AM | City

Reports of alleged police brutality surfaced again Thursday as residents of Ancol claimed they received an unprovoked beating when querying the development of a local plot of land, which has been the subject of dispute recently.

The report, filed at city police headquarters, was immediately denied by North Jakarta police precinct Chief Sr. Comr. M. Rum Murkal, who claimed his officers were merely safeguarding the construction of a fence.

Rum said some residents tried to disrupt the fence's construction and a clash occurred, which led to a number being arrested.

"I was not at the scene, but I've talked to a person who was arrested and he said he was not beaten by my officers," Rum said, adding he was not worried about the report.

The alleged incident took place Wednesday morning when a local resident questioned workers over the construction of a tent in front of the plot of land.

"I just watched the workers while they fenced the land. When they raised a tent, I went closer and asked if they had permission from local authorities," Nawafil said.

"Suddenly, a number of police officers started beating me," he said at the city police headquarters, showing his bruised right eye and back.

The ownership of the 6,600-square meter plot in Ancol subdistrict, Pademangan, North Jakarta, is being disputed by the family of the late M. Iping and the city administration, who both claim ownership.

City-owned company PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol (PJA) said it had acquired the right to manage the land and hired workers to fence the plot to keep squatters out.

PJA spokeswoman Sofia Cakti insisted the land was owned by the city administration.

Apart from Nawafil, two security guards from a nearby company, Samidi and Kuharudin, also claimed they were beaten by police.

Samidi said he was not injured but his colleague's hand was swollen from trying to fend off police beating him with the butt of a rifle.

"We went to the scene to see what was going on and were about to leave when officers began chasing us. They kicked our motorcycle and beat Kuharudin," he said.

Samidi was not hurt because he was quickly dragged away by another officer who took him to the police station.

Rum said he deployed some 80 officers to safeguard the construction of the fence "because it is city property".

The latest report comes amid a series of police brutality cases. Students at the National University claimed they were attacked by police in May when staging a demonstration on their campus in South Jakarta.

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