11 People Arrested, 26 Wounded From The Mass Riot In Lampung

Head of Public Relations of Polda Lampung Kombes Zahwani Pandra Arsyad (Dian Hadiyatna / Antara)

JAKARTA - The Lampung Regional Police have arrested 11 people from a mass action against the Job Creation Law which ended in chaos at the local DPRD office yard.

Head of Public Relations of the Lampung Regional Police, Kombes Zahwani Pandra Arsyad, said they came from students, university students and residents.

"So, this peaceful demonstration was not only attended by students and residents, but there were also students who shared their aspirations," he said as quoted by Antara, Thursday, October 8.

They were arrested for carrying stones, wood and fuel that had been prepared in plastic bags while carrying out the action.

"For the eleven people who were secured, we will carry out an intensive examination within 1 x 24 hours," he said.

He also regretted the students who took part in the action. Related to this, his party will coordinate with related agencies to be able to supervise their students.

"Because this is the jurisdiction of the Bandarlampung Police, we will coordinate with the Education Office to supervise the students so that this peaceful action does not turn into anarchist," he said.

However, he continued, in essence his party had received the aspirations of the mass action.

Meanwhile, there were 26 people who were injured as a result of the mass action against the Job Creation Act which ended in chaos in the yard of the local DPRD office.

"From the data we got in three hospitals in Bandarlampung, namely Bhayangkara, A. Dadi Tjockrodipo, and Bumi Waras, there were 26 injured members and residents," said Pandra.

He conveyed that the number of injured victims from the police was eleven people, one TNI person, and 14 others from the community or students who held the demonstration.

"Of the 26 people who were injured, 20 of them have been discharged from the hospital and six others are still undergoing treatment at the three hospitals," he said.

He emphasized that most of the injured victims who were treated in the hospital were because they were exposed to tear gas and were trampled when the crowd split apart.

"For the personnel we deployed were 1,050 people, while the mass was estimated at 1,100," he said.

Pandra explained that the mass of the action began to riot as a result of their deadlock resulting in throwing objects at the members so that the officers fired tear gas at the crowd of protesters.

"This means that the police always prioritize cooling processes before taking action, especially now that we are currently in a COVID-19 pandemic situation, of course we always appeal first," he said.