City seals Hailai discotheque over drug case

JAKARTA (JP): The city public order office temporarily closed down Hailai discotheque in North Jakarta yesterday after one of its managers was arrested for drug possession on Tuesday.

The head of the office, Kusaeni Budiantoro, said the nightspot will remain closed until police complete their investigation.

This is the second time the city administration temporary closed down the discotheque.

Meanwhile, the deputy governor for government affairs, Idroes, said yesterday that the discotheque would be closed for good if police found the disco's manager was involved in drug trafficking.

"We are waiting for the results. We will take firm action against the discotheque as stipulated in the regulation, which includes revoking the permit," he said.

Idroes said that the city administration intends to uphold the regulation as well as wage war on drug traffickers operating in the city's nightspots.

He said he had ordered the public order office to maintain contact with the police in order to receive the investigation's results and quickly take action against the discotheque.

"Basically, we will punish the discotheque. But we can't do it without evidence," Idroes said.

An executive of Hailai discotheque, Hendro Sumampouw, was apprehended in a predawn raid on Tuesday for possessing seven-and-a-half Ecstasy pills.

The arrest

According to Kusaeni, the suspect was arrested in a parking lot outside the discotheque as he was parking his car.

The police also arrested six other suspects in the operation and seized 76 Ecstasy pills and 20 marijuana cigarettes.

All of the suspects are being detained at the North Jakarta Police Department.

The city authorities -- including the city administration, police and military command -- have been cracking down on city nightspots to reduce the number of crimes, including drug offenses.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has threatened to revoke operational permits of nightspots which are involved in drug trafficking. (yns)