http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/looters-target-padangs-earthquake-victims/333425
October 04, 2009 Anita Rachman Looters Target Padang's Earthquake Victims Padang, West Sumatra. Looters have been ransacking damaged houses and shops in earthquake-stricken Padang over the weekend, taking what is left from those who already lost so much in Wednesday's 7.6 tremblor. Many quake victims left their damaged homes and businesses to stay in shelters or with relatives and now some are reporting theft, especially in Kampung Pondok, Padang's Chinatown area. Mintarja, 54, head of the RW III Kampung Pondok neighborhood, said that some residents had reported goods missing from their stores. He said that people in Kampung Pondok mostly work as merchants, because the area is one of the city's trading centers. The earthquake had damaged at least 80 percent of houses in the area, he said. "As you can see, many of our shophouses are damaged and we lost our windows and doors during the quake," Mintarja said. "I can't understand how people could have the heart to come and take things that don't belong to them when we are dealing with this kind of terrible situation." Mintarja said that some of his neighbors had reported many items missing from their businesses, including food stocks, clothes, irons and air conditioners. "They are plundering our goods. We have told the police and we asked them to guard and monitor the area," he said. Mintarja, who is also vice chairman of the Social Empowerment Organization in the area, said that this was not the first time opportunistic criminals had caused such problems. He said that in 2006 when fire razored the area, looting was also an issue. "These people who took our goods are those who know this area well. Most of them are local thugs and unemployed people," he said. He said that he hoped police could assist with security, especially at night. Kawedar, a West Sumatra police spokesman, said that he was aware of the issue. "But please, this is not plundering. Plundering is executed by a big group, with many people attacking an area to take over many properties. This is only robbery," he said. Kawedar said that police had so far received three robbery reports in Padang since the earthquake and five people were now being questioned by police. He said that some of the robbers had been stealing air conditioners. "It's untrue if we are accused of not doing anything. We are handling these cases and we will give full protection to the people," he said. Police were continuously holding patrols in the city, he said [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
