The country was rocked by protests across major cities including the capital Jakarta on Friday, after footage spread of 21-year-old ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan being run over by a police tactical vehicle in earlier rallies over low wages and perceived lavish perks for lawmakers.

Protests in Makassar descended into chaos outside the provincial and city representatives council (DPRD) buildings, both set on fire and vehicles set ablaze as protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Three people were killed as a result of the fire at the Makassar City Council building. Two of the victims were staff of the council and another was a civil servant.

“Two died at the scene, and one died at the hospital. They were trapped in the burning building,” Makassar City Council secretary Rahmat Mappatoba told AFP, accusing protesters of storming the office to set the building on fire.

“This is beyond our prediction. Usually during a demonstration, protesters only throw rocks or burn tires in front of the office. They never stormed into the building or burned it,” he added.

Acting Makassar Disaster Mitigation Agency head M. Fadli said on Saturday rescuers evacuated a total of eight people from the burning building, as reported by Tempo.co. The three casualties were reportedly trapped in a room when the building was under fire.

 

Five other people rescued from the building had been receiving treatment at a hospital.

The fire has since been extinguished.

In Jakarta, hundreds massed outside the headquarters of the Jakarta Police's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob), a police unit blamed for Affan's death, throwing firecrackers as police responded with tear gas.

A group of protesters tried to tear down the gates of the unit, notorious for its heavy-handed tactics, and pulled a sign from the building's facade in chaotic scenes.

Police said they had detained seven officers for questioning in connection with the driver's death, but investigators were still determining whow as behind the wehhel. An internal ethics hearing was also held on Friday and 

The protests were the biggest and most violent during President Prabowo Subianto's presidency, a key test less than a year into his rule that forced him to quickly urge calm, order an investigation and visit the family of the slain driver.

He has pledged fast, state-driven growth but he had already faced protests for widespread government budget cuts to fund his populist policies including a billion-dollar free meal programme.

Protests also spread to other major cities on Friday, including Yogyakarta, Bandung in West Java, Semarang in Central Java, Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.