Police Push Charges Against Minors Rioting in Anti-Omnibus Law Protest

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Metro Police Chief Insp. Gen. Nana Sudjana said that all rioters in the demonstrations against the omnibus law on Job Creation would be charged despite the fact that they were students and minors. Nana argued that this stringent act was aimed at creating a deterrent effect.

"Minors can be charged under certain rules," said Nana at Jakarta Metro Police HQ, South Jakarta on Monday, October 26, 2020.

However, Nana said that the sanction will be different compared to sanctions imposed on adults. For example, an adult would be subjected to a maximum of 20 days of detention for examination purposes, while children would have a maximum detention period of one week.

In addition, Nana explained that minors would be accompanied by their parents during the examination process.

Jakarta Metro Police arrested a total of 2,667 rioters in three demonstrations against the Omnibus Law held on October 8, 13, and 20, 2020. Seventy percent of of the arrested rioters were students from Jakarta, Bogor, Sukabumi, Subang, Indramayu, Bekasi, Tangerang, and Cirebon.

Of the total arrested rioters, Nana said that the police have named 143 people as suspects. However, only 67 of them were detained, and the rest were only obliged to make compulsory reporting. "Thirty-one of the 67 suspects are students," Nanan said.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH