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Many Tanjung Balai riot suspects teenagers
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Simmering tension – Residents gather in front of Dewi Samudera, a Chinese temple in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, which was plundered and set ablaze by a mob on Friday evening. (Courtesy of kini.co.id/-)
T
he North Sumatra Police released on Tuesday a list of 17 detained suspects accused of desecrating a number of temples in Tanjung Balai last week.
The 17 are Muhammad Hidayat, 19; Zulkifli Panjaitan, 17; Herman Ramadhan, 27; Abdul Rizal, 27; Restu, 22; Zainul, 18; Abdul Muis, 17; Mhd. Ryan Ray, 19; Mhd Ilham, 21; M.Aldi Rizki Panjaitan, 16; Andika, 21; M.Iqbal Lubis, 17; Aldi Al Arif Munthe, 18; Fikri Pirman, 16; Azri Puswari, 18; M.Rasid Manurung, 17; Mhd.Faisal 21. All are Tanjung Balai residents.
Eleven of the 17 suspects are teenagers and seven are considered underage in the Indonesian legal system. Nine of the 17 are suspected of vandalizing the temples while the remaining eight are suspected of looting, said North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rina Sari Ginting.
"Many suspects are underage, but we will still detain them,” Rina told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
She said the number of suspects was likely to increase because the investigation was ongoing. The police are focusing on suspects who acted as provocateurs on Friday and Saturday.
Hundreds of people damaged and set fire to 12 Buddhists and Confucian temples and pagodas. The violence broke out after a Chinese-Indonesian named Meliana, 41, complained about the volume of the speaker at Al Maksum Mosque to the mosque's caretaker. Later, the congregation went to her house and argued with Meliana.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
