Hundreds of people stormed AEON Mall Jakarta Garden City (AEON JGC) in Cakung, East Jakarta earlier today as they demanded an explanation from the mall’s developer, whom they accused of being responsible for the floods that occurred in the nearby housing area.
Videos of the demonstration have been circulating on social media since this afternoon, showing the masses approaching the shopping mall and later appearing to destroy the facilities.
https://twitter.com/RockersPantura/status/1232163757851398144
Masih beranjut gaes. Warga kampung sekitaran JGC (Rorotan, Kayu Tinggi, dst) tadi pagi mengamuk. Massa merusak club house dan Mall Aeon JGC
Video 1: Pintu belakang Mall Aeon JGC pic.twitter.com/hFsuRxXfYD
— sjifa (@sjifa) February 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/Upium/status/1232178569503109120
Cakung Police Chief Pandji Santoso told Tirto that the masses comprised of residents living around AEON JGC and that they claimed the floods hitting their neighborhoods today were the responsibility of the mall’s developers, who is also behind the overall Jakarta Garden City development in East Jakarta.
“According to the residents, there’s something wrong with the [land] contour that causes the floods. Even though the floods occurred everywhere [in Jakarta],” Pandji said.
According to Jakarta Metro Police spokesman Yusri Yunus, around 200 people stormed the mall at 9am today and went on to vandalize several facilities such as a security post, glass windows, signs, fences, and parts of the mall’s parking structure.
Police then dispatched 100 officers to the scene to disperse the crowd and escort employees and visitors out of the mall.
A representative of the developer, identified as Arif by local media, then met with the representative of the local residents at around 10am, in which the former explained that management of the reservoir and water channel at Jakarta Garden City had been handed over to the Jakarta Provincial Government and the city’s water supply department.
The crowd reportedly dispersed themselves before noon, whereas AEON JGC remained closed since this morning. No casualties were reported from the incident, though one person has been apprehended. It is not yet known if he was the mastermind behind the demonstration.
Police confirmed that there was no looting during the incident, while putting estimates of the mall’s material loss to reach hundreds of millions of rupiah.
Large areas of Jakarta, as well as satellite cities Bekasi and Tangerang, were inundated today following hours of heavy rainfall the night before. It is likely the worst flooding in the capital since the deadly New Year’s Day deluge. According to data from BNPB, 67 people were killed by floods and landslides in January, while tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes.
Also Read — #Banjir: Jakarta severely flooded (again) following heavy rainfall
Governor Anies Baswedan said earlier today that the Jakarta Provincial Government is working to assist the hundreds of RW (community units, each comprising of several neighborhoods) affected by today’s floods.
“Right now the number of RW affected keeps changing. More than 200 out of 2,738 RW in Jakarta [are affected],” he said, as quoted by Kumparan.
“Citizens who need assistance can call us at 112, and our district units will respond to the people’s needs.”
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