Normalcy restored in public services at Ciracas police station

Public services at the Ciracas police station in East Jakarta returned to normal since early this week following an attack on early Saturday (Aug 29), Jakarta Metropolitan Police spokesman Sen. Coms. Yusri Yunus stated.

In fact, those in need could still avail public services on Saturday after the authorized investigators completed their preliminary probe at the crime scene, he notified local journalists at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters on Monday.

Yunus noted that in the interim, the police precinct was secured by a joint team of police and army personnel, though he did not elaborate on the number of personnel involved. On Saturday, at around 1:45 a.m. local time, some 100 people attacked the Ciracas police station in East Jakarta that resulted in destruction caused to several facilities. The attackers also set alight the facilities at around 2 a.m. local time, according to the East Jakarta Fire Information Service. Several cars and carts parked on the street were reportedly damaged.

The attack was the second of its kind to have occurred since December 11, 2018, when a group of unidentified people also attacked the police station. Chief of the Public Relations Services of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Commissioner Yusri Yunus remarked that the police were yet probing likely links between the two incidents. In connection with this case, 12 army personnel had been detained at the Jakarta Military Command's Military Police Detachment (Pomdam Jaya) for their alleged involvements in the assault.

According to Indonesia's Army Chief of Staff General Andika Perkasa, the 12 detainees might have been involved in vandalizing several facilities at the police station, and 19 other soldiers had also been summoned and grilled. Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto revealed earlier that three of the 12 army personnel admitted to have vandalized several vehicles during the early morning attack.

Speaking at a press conference, held at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta, Tjahjanto, in the company of National Police Chief General Idham Azis, noted that the military police investigators had secured CCTV camera recordings. After examining the call records on Second Private MI's cellular phone, the investigators found that he had contacted 27 people.

Based on the second CCTV camera recording, two motorists might have been involved in vandalizing several facilities at the police station during the early morning assault, he stated, adding that further examination of the preliminary findings would be conducted. In response to this incident, Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD had demanded that the case of the attack on the Ciracas police station be handled properly in accordance with the existing laws.

The minister expressed belief that the case could more easily be solved owing to closer relations between the military and police chiefs. However, Mahfud MD appealed to the public at large, including those from the law enforcement agencies, to steer clear from acts of vigilantism.