Business as usual at Tanamur, Cafe Batavia
Business as usual at Tanamur, Cafe Batavia
JAKARTA (JP): Well known night spots Tanamur and Cafe Batavia have resumed normal operations.
A.F. Lapian, head of the City Law and Order Office announced on Monday that the city administration had temporarily closed down Tanamur, a discotheque in the Gambir district of Central Jakarta, because the establishment was believed to have been used as a venue for transactions involving prohibited drugs.
Cafe Batavia restaurant, on Jl. Pintu Besar Utara, West Jakarta, which was mistakenly identified by city administration officials as a discotheque, was also closed for remaining open after 2 a.m. on Monday.
However, an executive of Tanamur, who requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the closure order had been revoked soon after being imposed on Monday, after Tanamur's management cleared up a misunderstanding about an alleged drug transaction.
"We explained that the problem began when Tanamur security guards caught a drunken visitor holding drugs. The drunken person was handed over to the police," the executive said.
But instead of receiving praise for its actions, the discotheque was accused by a special city administration team, which had launched an operation that morning, of being an arena for drug transactions, he said.
The team is made up of representatives from a number of institutions, including the City Tourism Office, the City Law and Order Office and the City Police.
Graham James of Cafe Batavia said that his restaurant was never closed down because the closure order went to the wrong address.
"Cafe Batavia is a restaurant, not a discotheque," he said. As a restaurant, it is allowed to operate 24 hours a day, he added.
Members of the special team did disable the restaurant's sound equipment on Monday morning, but they allowed it to recommence normal operations yesterday.
The city administration is currently intensifying its supervision of discotheques throughout the city after receiving reports that some of the establishments were used by drug dealers. (hhr)