The Jakarta Post, June 15, 2004
Mobs riot in Denpasar, Indramayu, four injured
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Nana Rukmana, Denpasar/Indramayu
Hundreds of people rioted in two separate incidents in Cirebon and Bali on Sunday
leaving four people injured, dozens of houses and eight cars damaged.
No fatalities were reported in the incidents, which were caused when localized
disputes escalated.
In the West Java town of Indramayu, dozens of youths from Sabrang village,
Brondong, stormed into the neighboring Bedahan hamlet and threw rocks at houses
when villagers were sleeping.
The villagers then called the police, said Katim, 60, a resident whose house was
damaged in the incident.
The disorder ended after dozens of officers arrived in the area and arrested four
youths. Many others managed to evade the authorities.
The incident left 37 houses with damaged roofs and broken windows. The mob also
trashed two cars.
Rajam, 48, his wife, Narti, 35 and Tanirah, 21, were hit by rocks, sustaining bruises to
their heads and shoulders.
Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Johni Suroto said on Monday the rampage was
apparently in retaliation to an assault on a Sabrang villager by Bedahan youths.
Separately, in Denpasar, Bali, about 150 people armed with sharp weapons went on a
rampage on Monday night at the Ubung intercity bus terminal. One person was
injured and six cars were damaged in the attack.
Bali Provincial Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Pengasihan Gaut said on Monday the
rampage was a response to an incident the day before.
On Saturday night, Bambang Irawan, a resident from Jl. Achmad Yani in Denpasar,
got drunk with four friends at the Ubung bus terminal. They then violently attacked four
bus ticket booths in the terminal. The incident ended peacefully after terminal officials
confronted them and calmed them down.
On Sunday evening, Ari, Bambang's younger brother, rode a motorcycle into the
terminal.
"On entering the premises he was stopped by a security guard and they became
involved in a fierce argument, which ended in an altercation," Gaut said. Ari had been
assaulted by another security guard at the terminal once before, he said.
Ari went back to his house, about 2.5 kilometers from the terminal and told his brother
of the assault. Bambang gathered hundreds of residents in the neighborhood and they
went on a rampage at the terminal. Six cars parked nearby were damaged, while one
person was injured and admitted to the Sanglah Hospital. Police later arrived at the
terminal and arrested six people for questioning.
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