2008-Jul-25 - Pamekasan residents release two PLN employees

Pamekasan, (ANTARA News) - Some residents of Plakpak village,Pamekasan subdistrict, Madura, East Java, eventually released twostate power compay PT PLN employees Sirat and Junaidi they had heldhostage.

They released the two hostages on the condition that PLN repaired adamaged local power transformer. PLN had earlier taken away thetransformer, but it has not been repaired, police said Tuesdaynight.

As three days had passed since PLN took away the damagedtransformer apparently for a replacement, which PLN had not done,some of the villagers got angry, and when a PLN car passed theirvillage, they stopped it and held the car including its twopassengers hostage.

The villagers became so angry by the power failure, which hadcaused their tobacco plants to wither, and some had even died, dueto lack of water, which could not be pumped into the field withoutelectricity to operate their water pumps.

Later the two PLN employees were released, not the car, thanks tothe inteference of some ulemas and community leaders, the policesaid.

The villagers will also release the car only if power had beenrestored.

"It is alright to release the two, but not their car. And if PLNfailed to restore the power supply, we will set fire on thevehicle," one angry villager shouted.

Head if the Pamekasan PLN office Mohamad Rifa`ie said the damage onthe transformer was a pure technical failure, and not intentional.

"Today at 4.30 p.m, six PLN employees came to the village forrepair work, and God willing, power supply might be restoredtonight," the police said.(*)

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