22 gambling den operators to be tried soon
22 gambling den operators to be tried soon
JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochamad Hindarto
said yesterday 22 people believed to be operators of the Pluit,
North Jakarta, gambling den will be tried soon.
The suspects were captured along with hundreds of gamblers
last month.
"We are trying to complete their dossiers as soon as
possible," Hindarto told reporters yesterday.
Speaking during the official opening of a police station in
Lippo City, Bekasi, Hindarto said he prioritized the processing
of the 22 suspects' dossiers because their offense is more
serious that the rest.
The Operation Cleansing team captured 236 people, mostly of
Chinese descent and some expatriates, in a raid at a gambling
den in the Lucky Plaza building on Jl. Pluit Indah Jaya, North
Jakarta, in the early hours of June 11.
The team claimed that the captured were either operators of
the gambling den or gamblers. The handling of the case was then
transferred to the city police.
Police later freed 56 of the gamblers, including two
journalists and two lawyers, saying that they were only
onlookers, not taking part in the gambling when the raid was
held.
Later police released the remaining gamblers, including five
pregnant women, on bail. The 22 people whom police believe to
have been operators of the gambling den are still being detained.
Police earlier said among the 22 suspects were Taslim Biyanti,
believed to have acted as operator and the "boss" of the gambling
den, the owner Kuan Wan, general supervisor Johan, the croupier
Safrial, and Willy, the cashier.
Hindarto explained that the police have divided the dossiers
of the 22 suspects into eight files.
The first dossier was sent last week to the Jakarta high
prosecution office, which will then submit it to the court for
trial.
When asked about supervision of the gamblers who were released
on bail, the two-star general said police had anticipated the
matter and assigned the special babinkamtibmas police patrol to
their surveillance.
Main task
The task of these special patrol officers is mainly to keep in
touch daily with all residents of the subdistrict where they are
placed.
This kind of police officer exists nationwide. They are
reportedly quite popular and effective in dealing with criminals
in Central Java, where they have been dubbed "Java sheriffs".
Observers say the public is still largely unaware of the
existence of the babinkamtibmas in the greater Jakarta area,
which limits their effectiveness.
"The babinkamtibmas officers know where the gamblers live and
monitor them daily in order to check whether they still live
there or whether they have moved to other areas ," said Hindarto.
During the dedication of the police station, the Lippo Group
management also presented a car and four motorbikes for use
there.
Aside from police officers, the developer employs dozens of
security guards, who wear uniforms. They patrol the housing
complex around the clock. (jsk)