Angry young men: The Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) protests outside the Malaysian Embassy in 2009. FBR members have been allegedly connected to several incidents of violence in recent years. (JP/J. Adiguna)
The Jakarta Police have named five members of the Pancasila Youth (PP) as suspects in the killing of one leading Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) member in a recent fatal brawl in Pondok Aren, South Tangerang.
“The five men were identified by their initials as, A, AJ, AK, M and YM,” Jakarta Police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, told reporters, adding they were now being detained at the Tangerang Police precinct.
He said police had determined that there were 14 men involved in the killing of Muhidin at an FBR guard post in Pondok Aren on Wednesday, after conducting an investigation.
Rikwanto said 50 men on motorcycles approached the post and suddenly attacked 10 FBR members who were guarding the post.
Nine fled the scene, leaving Muhidin alone trying to defend the post.
He died, however, after being brutally assaulted and suffering severe injuries.
“The police confiscated several meat cleavers stained with blood from the arrested suspects,” Rikwanto said.
He added that the police were also still tracking those responsible for spreading messages via various social media sites and text messages after the deadly brawl, saying FBR members would be going on the rampage and people should be careful.
The messages made Ciledug and Bintaro residents anxious.
The FBR and the PP are notorious rivals and are often involved in violent clashes.
In response to the latest incident, the Jakarta Police said they were planning to invite top executives from various mass organizations from across Jakarta, including the FBR and the PP, to a gathering on Friday evening, as they were responsible for keeping their members in line.
Rikwanto said police had often mediated disputes between mass organizations following clashes between their members.
“We hope that by having them meet and share a dialogue, we can reduce the number of brawls between these organizations,” he said. (riz/mtq)
