Cirebon gambling dens raided

CIREBON, West Java: Hundreds of Muslim youths raided several shophouses on Tuesday night on Jl. Pasuketan here on suspicion that they were being used for gambling.

The angry crowd vandalized the shophouses, took out several gambling slot machines and set fire to them in the street. Later on Wednesday, Cirebon Police announced that police personnel had detained three people believed to have led the vandalism.

"Earlier, we held dozens of people involved in the vandalism. But after questioning, we released all of them except the three that we perceive were responsible for leading the vandalism," said Cirebon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Josep Wisnu Sanjaya.

The incident began when hundreds of youths grouped under the Cirebon Muslim Front and United Cirebon Youth assembled on Tuesday night at An Nur Mosque in the city. The youths later marched in the city's streets carrying banners and posters condemning rampant gambling in the city.

They then proceeded to Pasuketan 18 where the gambling dens are allegedly located. They vandalized the buildings and all electronic devices inside them and took out the gambling slot machines and burned them in the street. -- JP