Jakarta – The Jakarta city administration has rounded up about 2,000 insane people from the streets over the past week and is now holding them at Panti Laras Asylum in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

They are currently undergoing mental health tests, and the more intelligent of them will receive training in cooking, carpentry and sewing, in the hope that one day they will become independent.

Those who have identity cards can be claimed by their families and taken home, as long as the relatives solemnly promise to treat them humanely. The relatives must also pledge to keep the insane people at home, to prevent them from roaming the streets and disturbing city residents.

Deputy Jakarta Governor Djailani yesterday said the city administration was worried about the presence of mad people on the streets, as several had been run over and killed this year.

He said the asylum has classes where mentally ill men are taught carpentry skills and insane women learn how to cook. Psychiatrists from the University of Indonesia will regularly check the inmates' mental health and decide whether any of them have recovered sufficiently to be released.

Djailani said it's high time for greater public awareness of Jakarta's mentally ill. "We need to pay more attention to them, especially during Ramadhan," he said. The asylum is funded by the city administration.

The number of insane people in Jakarta has reportedly increased since the onset of the economic crisis in July 1997.