TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of thugs served as brokers between illegal street vendors and corrupt Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers, a recent investigation report released by the Indonesian Ombudsman revealed. The investigation was conducted in a number of areas in Jakarta, such as Setiabudi, Ambassador, Imperium, Jatinegara Station, Tebet Station, Manggarai Station, and Tanah Abang, on August 9 and 10.

“[Thugs] serve as middlemen or brokers,” Ombudsman commissioner Adrianus Meliala said at his office in Jakarta on Friday, November 24.

Adrianus explained the thugs received payments for spots used by street vendors to sell merchandises. The tariffs ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions rupiah, Adrianus added.

The Ombudsman handed over the investigation report to the Jakarta administration on November 2. According to Adrianus, the Jakarta administration has not yet taken actions more than three weeks after the report was submitted.

Adrianus explained that thugs were hired as the middlemen to reduce the possibility of the officers being caught in the illegal practices. In reality, a number of Satpol PP officers are involved in the system.

Thugs who work with corrupt officers, Adrianus went on, were deployed to a number of street vendors locations. However, he declined to reveal the identities of the thugs. Adrianus clarified that they carried out the operation in groups masked as mass organizations.

ZARA AMELIA