Carrying sharp weapons, dozens of teenagers on motorbikes looted Fernando Store, a wholesale and retail clothing store in Depok, West Java.
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ANTARA/Indrianto Eko Suwarso
Dozens of detained youths of the Jembatan Mampang (Jepang) motorbike gang wait to undergo a urine drug test at the Depok Police station in West Java on Monday (25/12). The Depok Police Criminal Department Unit arrested 26 youths, including three girls and several underage children, after they were allegedly involved in the looting of a clothing store on Jl. Sentosa Raya in Depok on Sunday (24/12).
DEPOK, KOMPAS – Motorcycle gangs have started trouble again, causing restlessness among the people of Depok, West Java.
Carrying sharp weapons, dozens of teenagers on motorbikes looted Fernando Store, a wholesale and retail clothing store on Jl. Sentosa Raya, Sukmajaya district, in the early mornings on Sunday (24/12).
On Monday, the police arrested 26 people suspected to be involved in the looting.
The looting happened at around 04:42 a.m. The act was caught by CCTV footage of the store, which is open for 24 hours. Video footage from the monitoring camera, which is 1 minute and 27 seconds long, went viral on social media and became the talk of the locals.
Nendi, 22, a Fernando Store employee, was on duty that night. He said that as he was organizing some of the store’s products, a group of teenagers on motorbikes stopped across the road from the store. Many of them shared a motorbike with two other gang members, a few of them girls.
“One of them pointed to the store. Suddenly I was threatened by a person carrying a celurit [traditional machete]. Dozens of others came in and took some jeans,” Nendi said at Fernando Store on Monday.
At the time of the looting, which lasted around four minutes, the road was already busy. But none of the people on the road dared to stop the group of armed teenagers.
After the hooligans left at around 5:00 p.m., Nendi got on his motorbike and went straight to a security post, located around 150 meters from the scene of the crime. However, the post was empty and police personnel could not be found.
He returned to the post at around 8:00 a.m., but there was still no one on duty. Eventually he asked for help from the Sukmajaya Military District Command (Koramil).
Because of the incident, Nendi is frightened by every sound of a motorbike. He has even asked the store’s owner to move him to another location.
Candra, 26, the owner of Fernando Store, said that he suffered a loss of Rp 13 million (US$959). The looters ran off with 108 pairs of jeans, eight denim shirts, 12 shirts and five jackets.
A similar incident, Candra said, happened in October. An employee of a restaurant next to his store was approached by six bikers at around 1:00 a.m. The employee’s cell phone was taken. He hoped that the police would be firmer and carry out regular patrols in the area after the two incidents involving hooligans on motorbikes.
“If this is not followed up, it will feel like 1998 all over again,” he said.
ANTARA FOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso
Police investigate the scene of a looting allegedly carried out by a group of youths suspected to be part of a motorbike gang on Jl. Sentosa Raya, Sukmajaya, in Depok, West Java, on Sunday (24/12). Dozens of youths, including a few girls, carrying sharp weapons, reportedly looted a clothing store at around 4:30 a.m. The case is still under police investigation.
Repeatedly
Based on Kompas data, on June 2, 2017, the Jakarta Police arrested 28 suspected motorcycle gang members. They were members of Jepang (Mampang bridge), GP and Geng Solter 18, motorbike gangs known to roam around Depok.
The police arrested two members of the Sanca Bergoyang motorbike gang, which also produces sharp weapons on Sanca field, Sukamaju, West Java.
Regarding the latest case on Jl. Sentosa Raya, Depok Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Didik Sugiarto said that the Depok Police Criminal Department Unit had detained 26 people, consisting of 23 men and three women, suspected of being members of the Jepang gang.
On Sunday at 6:30 p.m., the police raided a rented house in the Pitara area, Pancoran Mas, Depok, which is thought to be the headquarter of Jepang. Arrests were also made at a garage in Mampang, Pancoran Mas, where evidence was found in the form of six motorbikes and a number of sharp objects. Jackets, jeans and looted shirts and alcoholic drinks were also found in the rented house.
“They are hooligans on motorbikes who often commit criminal acts, including aggravated robbery, extortion and inter-community brawls. We will further investigate the role of every person [arrested],” he said.
Interviewed at the Depok Police station, Ati, 40, mother of Y, 17, one of the arrested teenagers, said that her son had never arrived home late. However, on Sunday night, Y went out without notice.
“I am surprised he was arrested. He is a good boy,” said Ati, who is a housewife and claims her husband is a government employee.
According to an investigation by the Indonesia Child Protection Commission (KPAI), some of the perpetrators are under the age of 18.
KPAI commissioner Jasra Putra said these children needed to be treated with special care and processed in accordance with juvenile justice regulations.
Information from at least two of the perpetrators revealed that the gang members lived together in a rented house. They deliberately left their parents’ house to become independent. Most of the perpetrators have recently graduated from school and do not have jobs.
