Nivell Rayda – A peaceful rally at Corruption Eradication Commission headquarters on Tuesday turned violent when an unknown group of men attacked demonstrators who were demanding the arrest of a provincial governor, leaving one of them badly injured.

At 10 a.m. around 30 activists under the umbrella name of "Joint Movement Against Corruption" rallied in front of the commission office in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta, demanding the commission, known as the KPK, arrest the governor of Riau Islands, Ismeth Abdullah.

Ismeth, the group alleged, had taken an unspecified sum in bribes from PT Istana Sarana Raya in 2004 in return for naming the company as the sole provider of fire engines in the province without a bidding process.

Some 30 minutes into the rally, an unknown man approached the protesters and shouted: "Go home... go home!" The protesters ignored the man and carried on with their demonstration in the busy street of Rasuna Said.

Suddenly, a black Toyota Kijang Innova drove straight at the protesters, scattering them as they tried to avoid the high speed car. Four people then exited the vehicle and chased the demonstrators, most of who ran to the Wisma Bakrie building, across the street from the KPK office.

However, one of the protesters, Rian, was grabbed by an unidentified man as he tried to escape the attack. The other men then surrounded him, beating and stomping on him.

Police on guard at the KPK office immediately arrested the four men and took them to Setia Budi Police Station for questioning. The men were later charged with instigating a riot.

Rian, who was rushed to a nearby clinic for medical care, suffered a severe cut just above his left eyebrow and bruises over his face and body. "I don't know what happened; suddenly I was being chased and then there were men beating me up," he said.

Ismeth is still a witness in a bribery case being investigated by the KPK. The case involves PT Istana's director Hengky Samuel Daud, who has been named a suspect for allegedly collaborating with the Ministry of Home Affair's director-general of regional autonomy, Oentarto Sindung Mawardi, in the improper procurement of fire engines in several provinces and cities, including Riau Islands.

Several officials have been jailed for their role in the graft scheme, most notably former Riau governor Saleh Djasit and former Medan mayor Abdillah.

The case also involved former West Java governor Dani Setiawan. Last month Dani was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Court for receiving Rp 2.8 billion in kickbacks from Hengky in a Rp 86 billion project secured by Istana in the province.