On May 5, the day before Ramadan began, a viral video of armed young men riding motorcycles and shouting went viral on social media, raising concerns about safety during the holy month.

East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Ady Wibowo confirmed that the video was real and that it took place in Cakung, East Jakarta. Police suspected that the people seen in the video were planning to engage in a brawl.

“They received broadcast messages in the afternoon to gather and fight in a brawl,” Ady said as reported by kompas.com.

However, the seven young men soon canceled their plan as nobody around them was provoked by their antics. Police then apprehended them and confiscated several sharp weapons.

On the same day, a 17-year-old teenage boy died after being stabbed in the stomach with a sickle during a brawl between two rival groups in Senen, Central Jakarta.

Senen Police chief Comr. Muhammad Syafe’i said the brawl took place between groups of teenagers from community units (RW) 004 and 008 on Jl. Kramat II, Kwitang, Senen, who had previously agreed to meet for the fight.

The police arrested 18 young men suspected of being involved in the brawl.

Meanwhile, in Depok, West Java, five young men on Jl. Kampung Lio were stabbed by a motorcycle gang on May 9 while they were hanging out before having sahur. The perpetrators fled the scene after the attack.

Pancoran Mas Police chief Comr. Roni Wowor said the five victims were treated at the Citama Hospital in Pabuaran, Bogor, West Java.

Another teenager, identified as AL, died in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, after sustaining injuries from an attack by a motorcycle gang that was passing through the area on Wednesday.

“At around 3 a.m., a group of at least 10 bikers and their passengers came from Pasar Minggu heading to Depok,” South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Indra Jafar said.

The bikers reportedly saw the victim with his friends in Lenteng Agung, and then attacked him with weapons.

The police have arrested several suspects, identified as MB bin AS, 18, MA, 18, X-CEL, 25, FP, 16, and MS, 25.

To prevent further brawls in the area, Indra has prohibited the holding “sahur on the road”, in which people travel in large motorcycle convoys to have their predawn meals and give meals to passersby.

The most recent incident took place in Matraman, East Jakarta, where a brawl broke out between two groups of teenagers on Sunday.

Matraman subdistrict head Bambang Eko Prabowo said the brawl was sparked by an Instagram video posted by a group of teenagers in Matraman that sought revenge against a group from Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, that reportedly instigated a brawl in Matraman last week. Bambang said the group wandered around the area at 3 a.m. to prepare for the attack on the group from North Jakarta. “About 30 people were arrested on Jl. Matraman Raya and three residents were shielded from the mob,” he said.

To prevent a second attack, Bambang said he and local security officers patrolled the area. Parents have been asked to keep their children at home in the early hours of morning.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that parents should watch over their children during Ramadan to prevent them being caught up in brawls.

He said the city administration would cooperate with local communities and public figures to prevent future brawls.

“If we only enact existing regulations, it will not stop [brawls]. So parents must make sure that during sahur their children are at home or in a nearby area and do not gather in large masses,” Anies said on Friday, as reported by kompas.com. (ami)

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