TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian police arrested 5,918 people suspected of creating chaos during rallies against the job creation omnibus law held in several parts of the country on Thursday (Oct 8).

"During the rallies, which ended in anarchy, the Indonesian police arrested 5,918 people," Chief of the Public Relations Division of the Indonesian Police Inspector General Argo Yuwono noted in a written statement released here on Saturday.

Yuwono remarked that the status of the 240 arrested people was raised to the level of investigation for criminal offense.

"Meanwhile, 153 people are in the process of being interrogated, while 87 people are held in custody," he stated.

Yuwono noted that enforcement of the law against anarchic demonstrators came under the National Police's endeavors to maintain state integrity and public order.

"The state should not bow down to hooliganism and intolerance," he emphasized.

Yuwono further remarked that 145 of the arrested demonstrators were found to be reactive in rapid testing for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

To this end, the police urged those rejecting the job creation ominbus law to adopt a legal channel by filing a petition for a judicial review of the law to the Constitutional Court (MK) rather than holding demonstrations that raise the risk of transmitting COVID-19.

Read also: Omnibus Law Riot: 87 Named Suspects for Role in Protest Violence

ANTARA