0 Motel protest turns violent in Depok

At least 70 people from various Islamic-based organizations, including the Depok branch of Muhammadiyah, sealed a motel they suspected of harboring prostitutes on Jl. Raya Cinere late on Sunday. The leader, Ahmad Tammami Husain from Muhammadiyah, said that the groups had often protested the existence of the motel but the owner had continued its operations. “We wanted to stop the motel from operating, that’s why we sealed the doors of the building,” Ahmad told reporters on Monday. 

The protesters had vandalized the motel last October but none of them were brought to justice. In December, the municipality’s Public Order Agency temporarily sealed the motel because it was run on a permit to use the building as shops instead of a permit to use the building as a hotel. Ahmad said that during the protest they chased and beat up the son of the owner when the latter, identified as Ki Agung T. Adiningrat, 50, drew a gun and aimed it at the mob. “He put the gun to my head and threatened me,” said Ahmad. 

The police arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. and dispersed the mob. Depok Police detective chief Febriansyah said that the motel owner threatened the mob with an airsoft gun to stop them from beating his son,” he told reporters at his office. The police had taken Ki Agung and his son to the police station for interrogation based on the protesters’ reports of the use of the gun. Depok Police chief Sr. Comr. Achmad Kartiko said that the police charged Ki Agung under Article 33 of the Criminal Code with misconduct and under the emergency law on illegal firearm possession. “The suspect has confessed he illegally pointed the gun at the protesters,” Kartiko said. He said that the police had confiscated one airsoft gun and a long-barrel gun from Ki Agung.

source : the jakarta post