F

ormer crime lord Hercules Rozario Marshal’s men have reportedly extorted not only money, but also construction materials from construction workers at a shop-house in Kembangan, West Jakarta, say witnesses.

A construction worker who refused to be identified said the thugs had frequently extorted construction materials such as sand, cement and iron or steel, as well as sinks and toilets, since 2012, making up a sum of hundreds of millions of rupiah (around tens of thousands of US dollars). The thugs, he said, used the materials to build their houses.

“Someone would be beaten if we refused to obey their orders. Someone even broke his leg after being thrown out of a car,” said the construction worker who was building the shop-house belonging to PT Tjakra Multi Strategi as quoted by tempo.co.

He said there was one time when they had no spare sinks and toilets to give to the thugs and as a consequence, they assaulted a driver who transported the materials.

A source from the West Jakarta Police confirmed the story. “They only have courage to speak about it [not to file a report with the police],” he said.

Hercules and 49 of his associates were named suspects last Saturday for their alleged involvement in a fight with police in Kebon Jeruk Indah, West Jakarta, the day before. The clash broke out when the suspects allegedly tried to provoke a fight with police personnel who had been dispatched to guard the area after reports that Hercules and his men were actively engaged in extortion there.