T

he police have named a suspect for negligence that led to the harm of others during a smartphone sale at one of Jakarta’s toniest shopping malls.

“We have named one suspect, E., from the event’s organizer,” South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Imam Sugianto said on Sunday.

Imam said that investigators were still questioning 10 people, including employees of the event’s organizer; the management of the event venue, Pacific Place mall in the Sudirman Business District in South Jakarta; security officers and representatives of Research in Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones.

“We will announce more suspects on Monday,” he said.

On Friday, dozens were injured as crowds grew rowdy and impatient after waiting for hours for the chance to buy the latest BlackBerry smartphone to be released in Indonesia by RIM.

Event organizers intended to offer the first 1,000 people in line the chance to buy the smartphone, the BlackBerry Bellagio, for Rp 2.3 million (US$253), well below the recommended retail price of Rp 4.6 million.

Hundreds of people descended on the Sudirman Business District starting on Thursday evening to line up for a chance to buy the phone on discount.

Those standing in line received a bracelet to denote their place in line that could be used to buy new smartphone when sales commenced on Friday.

At least 200 police officers were on hand to provide security.

Officers closed the street in front of the mall’s south lobby and eventually began turning people away from the line.

Concerned that they might not be able to buy the smartphone on discount, people in the crowd began to push while standing in line.

Reports said some people fainted while others had broken bones.

Police officers on the scene then halted the event to prevent more injuries.

Not all those in line were BlackBerry enthusiasts. Some were “jockeys”, who were paid from Rp 500,000 to Rp 1 million by re-sellers to stand in line.

Edie Toet Hendratno, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, said the event’s organizer should have learned from many similar previous incidents and made appropriate safety preparations.

“The incident could have actually been avoided. When it comes to consumerism, the public is always greatly enticed by discounts. That will definitely attract a crowd that is sometimes hard to control. The organizers should have taken this pattern into account,” Edie said.

On several occasions, Jakarta’s malls have been flooded by consumers lining up for sales on must-have items ranging from Crocs sandals to electronic gadgets such as iPads.

Indonesia, one of the world’s largest markets for BlackBerry products, was chosen to launch RIM’s latest smartphone.

Sales of BlackBerry smartphones in Indonesia have been increasing, bucking a trend of declining sales in RIM’s other markets.