Three men who carelessly threw trash bags into the Kalimalang canal in Bekasi, West Java have turned themselves in to the authorities after a video catching them in the act circulated on social media.
The video has been widely shared by netizens and Bekasi-based community accounts on Instagram, including Bekasi Deputy Mayor Tri Adhianto.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnE_66hBun/
The men, who weren’t clearly visible in the video, threw at least four big trash bags into the canal, which were taken from inside a white van. The incident reportedly occurred on the busy Inspeksi Kalimalang street in South Tambun district on Sunday evening. The person who filmed them even made sure to zoom in on the van’s license plate amid the passing vehicles.
Dwi Prasetya, who heads Bekasi City Police’s crime investigation unit, said that police had sought to look for the responsible parties following the viral video to find out about the type of trash that was dumped into the canal, fearing that they could have thrown away hazardous waste.
The video also prompted officials from both Bekasi city and Bekasi regency to inspect the scene, during which they took away the carelessly dumped garbage.
Yesterday, three men turned themselves in to the Bekasi City Police, and has since been identified by their initials as van owner AG, as well as R and A, who were using the vehicle.
Bekasi City Police Chief Hendra Gunawan said the trash bags contained domestic waste containing seafood leftovers, which were from AG’s child’s birthday party. Hendra said that the case will be handed over to the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) and Bekasi regency’s Environment Agency.
The suspects could potentially be charged with violations of public order under Bekasi Regency’s Regional Regulations (Perda), which could see them individually sentenced to six months in prison or a maximum fine of IDR50 million (US$3,400) if found guilty.
