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Jakarta police question tourism agency head on fatal Monas incident
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People line up to redeem their vouchers for staple food during a charity event held by Forum Untukmu Indonesia at the National Monument (Monas) compound on April 28. (Via tempo.co/TMC Polda Metro Jaya)
J
akarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Tinia Budiati has fulfilled the Jakarta Police’s summons for questioning in regard to a social event at the National Monument (Monas) compound where two boys died last month.
Tinia arrived at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Thursday afternoon.
She said earlier she would tell the police about the procedure to issue a permit for an event.
"I will not hide anything and just be honest," Tinia said, as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.
The Jakarta Police have also questioned Monas management head Mundjirin regarding the issuing of a permit for the event, which was organized by Forum Untukmu Indonesia.
During the event, organizers distributed several vouchers that could be exchanged for 1 kilogram of rice, three packages of instant noodles and 1 liter of cooking oil.
The other vouchers could also be exchanged for a meal package and bread.
The event turned chaotic when hundreds of people jostled for free packages.
Two children -- Mahesa Junaedi, 12, and Muhammad Rizki Syahputra, 10, -- reportedly died during the chaos.
Mundjirin told the police that the organizers had told the administration that they would sell cheap food packages.
The administration rejected the proposal because, according to the prevailing gubernatorial regulation, no transactions are allowed to be conducted inside the Monas compound.
The organizers who had distributed vouchers to residents decided to change the format of the event from the sale of affordable meals to the distribution of free meal packages.
The organizers later issued a letter stating that they would be responsible for anything that happened during the event and that they would free the city administration and Monas management from obligations rising from any incidents during the event. (cal)
