T

he police are continuing to stamp out the illegal sale of firecrackers to prevent the further loss of lives, especially during the fasting month of Ramadhan, when playing firecrackers is part of tradition.

East Java Police chief spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyoso said police were curbing the illegal sale of firecrackers and conducting campaigns to discourage sellers from doing so.

'€œWe'€™re continuing to curb the sale of firecrackers, but it'€™s not easy to completely wipe them out. By further curbing sales, we hope to eradicate them in the future, to prevent victims and blasts,'€ Awi told reporters on Thursday.

Firecrackers are low explosive devices that have a detonation velocity of between 400 and 800 meters per second. They are made of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur and are packed in several layers of paper. They are mainly used during New Year'€™s Eve and ahead of Ramadhan.

Firecrackers have been banned since the Dutch colonial era, with the issuance of an act in 1940 that carried a three-month sentence and a fine of Rp 7,500.

The regulation, which was amended in 1951, stipulated that makers and sellers of substandard firecrackers could face 18 years in prison.

Police Chief Regulation No. 2/2008 stipulated only firecrackers measuring below two centimeters were permissible, while those measuring more than that must obtain a permit from the National Police.

Based on data from Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya, four people have fallen victim to firecrackers since the start of Ramadhan, one fatally. The deceased was a seven-year-old boy from Krian, Sidoarjo, who died on July 7.

Two other victims, aged 5 and 6-years-old, suffered eye injuries from firecracker sparks, while the other victim was a 29-year-old man from Madura.

Last year, 26 people were treated at the hospital as a result of firecrackers.

Awi said firecracker sales in East Java during this Ramadhan had dropped compared to the corresponding period last year.

'€œNow, only 11 cases have been recorded. They are found in Malang [3 cases], Lamongan [2], Pasuruan [1], Gresik [2], Tenggalek [2] and Bondowoso [1]. The number dropped from last year when 237 cases were recorded,'€ said Awi.

Awi added the police had seized 7,227 firecrackers since early Ramadhan. They had also confiscated 61.7 kilograms (kg) of black powder, 25 kg of potassium, 2 kg of sulfur, 2 kg of gunpowder, 2,130 shells, two buckets, 24 fuses and 12 fireworks.

'€œThe declining number of cases shows that people have a high sense of awareness of the dangers of firecrackers,'€ he said.

Based on police data, only one firecracker importer and 21 sellers in Surabaya have obtained permits from the National Police and the Surabaya Police.

A firecracker trader in Surabaya, Singky Soewadji, said the sales of various brands of firecrackers had risen further year to year.

'€œAround 20 importers and 22 brands of firecrackers have entered the Indonesian market this year. All of them are imported from China and the volume has increased this year compared to last year, when only 11 importers and 12 brands were available,'€ said Singky.