The death of Deudeuh Alfi Sahrin, a sex worker killed by one of her customers at her kos (boarding house) in Tebet, South Jakarta, cast a spotlight on the illegal activities, particularly prostitution, that supposedly had been going on for decades in the neighbor, particularly Jalan Tebet Utara Dalam 1, infamously known as Vagina Street.
How such activities have been allowed to take place in boarding houses has been the subject of much speculation and criticism. Subsequent investigations revealed that the boarding house that Deudeuh was living at working was not properly licensed, as were most of the kos on that street.
Further digging has revealed that many of the kos on Jalan Tebet Utara Dalam are not only unlicensed, they were built illegally over what should have been open green space.
Governor Basuki “Ahok” Purnama Tjahaja has already instructed the Mayor of South Jakarta, Samsudin Nur, to tear down the boarding houses the illegal boarding houses in Tebet as they have been built on land owned by the city government.
Ahok revealed that illegal building have been sprouting up in Tebet since since 2004. He said he suspects government officials were bribed into issuing illegal building permits.
“I can report that those buildings stand on what should be open green land. Demolish them, I told the mayor (of South Jakarta). They’ve been there a long time, already since 2004. That means that there are many officials who were acting inappropriately in this area,” Ahok said at City Hall today as quoted by MetroTV.
In addition to dismantle buildings with illegal permits, Ahok called on prostitution to be eradicated from Tebet. But he noted that demolition and eradication should be done gradually and carefully, so as to prevent chaos and problems from recurring.
