Police urged to keep investigating Yorris<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) urged police yesterday to continue their investigation into
\nYorris Raweyai, an Assembly member, who was apprehended last week
\nfor his alleged involvement in gambling.<\/p>\n
Deputy chairman of Golkar Abdul Gafur said the ruling
\npolitical organization would not hesitate to punish Yorris if he
\nwas proven guilty.<\/p>\n
\"Gambling is a violation of Golkar's moral principle of
\nflawlessness. If he (Yorris) is found guilty he will face
\nadministrative sanctions,\" Gafur, who is also deputy speaker of
\nthe House of Representatives and the MPR, said.<\/p>\n
But another MPR deputy speaker, Syarwan Hamid, said Golkar
\nshould handle the investigation internally.<\/p>\n
Syarwan expressed concern over the allegations, saying it was
\nnot ethical for an Assembly member to hang around a gambling den
\nfor whatever purposes.<\/p>\n
\"It's not morally acceptable even for ordinary people to seek
\namusement in such a place.\"<\/p>\n
Gafur urged the public to remember the principle of
\npresumption of innocence and he said that an internal Golkar
\ninvestigation was underway.<\/p>\n
\"He might be just shooting the breeze or having fun over
\nthere. If a man drops by a red-light district, can we conclude
\nthat he has had sex with a prostitute?<\/p>\n
\"It's all relative to people's interpretation,\" Gafur said.
\n\"It has turned out that Yorris was released and has yet to be
\nquestioned by police.\"<\/p>\n
Yorris, one of the 588 Assembly members representing Golkar,
\nwas apprehended late Thursday and among almost one hundred
\nalleged gamblers detained during Jakarta Military Command raids
\non three entertainment centers in West and North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The command's spokesman, Lt. Col. DJ. Nachrowi, said that one
\nof the three raided venues was the Kiss Me entertainment center
\non Jl. Gajah Mada.<\/p>\n
\"We caught 12 gamblers red-handed at Kiss Me, including the
\nwell-known leader of a youth organization,\" he said, referring to
\nYorris, who is chairman of the Golkar-affiliated Pemuda Pancasila
\nyouth organization.<\/p>\n
Nachrowi said a number of coins and gambling paraphernalia
\nwere seized as evidence.<\/p>\n
Those arrested during the raid were dropped off at Jakarta
\nPolice Headquarters early Friday for further investigation, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Police reportedly released Yorris because it was believed they
\nshould have first obtained a permit from the President before
\nquestioning the Assembly member.<\/p>\n
However, city police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang, strongly
\ndenied the report yesterday, saying that his office did not
\nrelease Yorris because of his MPR status.<\/p>\n
\"According to the chief of city police detectives, Col. Gories
\nMere, Yorris was immediately released because there was not
\nenough hard evidence to detain him.\"<\/p>\n
He refused to disclose what evidence police had regarding
\nYorris' alleged involvement in gambling.<\/p>\n
\"There were another eight people caught at Kiss Me who were
\nreleased because of a lack of hard evidence about their
\ninvolvement in gambling.\"<\/p>\n
He rejected reports which said Yorris had been summoned to
\nCity Police headquarters Monday.<\/p>\n
\"We never summoned Yorris. He promised that he would come on
\nMonday to explain his presence at the raided venue. But, as you
\nall know, he did not show up.\"<\/p>\n
Aritonang said his office was still investigating.<\/p>\n
\"We're still trying to get more information and evidence which
\nmay be used to nail the released gamblers.\"<\/p>\n
Gafur said legal procedures must be followed in the same way
\nas they were when Yorris was arrested for alleged gambling a few
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
He was arrested in July 1994 by police during a raid on an
\nillegal gambling den on Jl. Daan Mogot in West Jakarta. Yorris
\nremained in the police detention center for about one week.<\/p>\n
Yorris was elected as a member of the Assembly in October last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
\"The court cleared him of any criminal charges. Had he been
\nfound guilty he would not have been elected an Assembly member,\"
\nGafur said. (amd\/cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-urged-to-keep-investigating-yorris-1447893297",
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