Bali needs rules on local liquors

DENPASAR, Bali: Tabanan police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rahardja Subyakta urged local administration and councillors on Wednesday to issue a regulation to control the distribution of traditional liquors in the regency.

Rahardja said local liquors were more dangerous than imported ones because they contained much more alcohol.

"Traditional liquors can contain 60 percent alcohol, while the alcohol level of imported ones ranges from 10 percent to 48 percent," he said.

Rahardja cited several recent brawls between villages in Tabanan, some 14 kilometers west of Denpasar, that were sparked by drunken youths.

"This was because we have no regulation on traditional liquors such as arak and tuak. Without it, it is difficult for police to take any action against the production and distribution of such liquors," Rahardja told reporters after witnessing the destruction of some 928 bottles of liquors at his office.

The liquors were confiscated during an anti-liquor operations conducted from Dec. 18, 2000 to Jan. 2, 2001.

"Most traditional liquors are produced by small breweries in the villages, and they do not have the technology to set the alcohol content at proper levels," Rahardja said. (zen/hdn)