Counterfeit money widespread

BOGOR (JP): Counterfeit money has become widespread here since the monetary crisis took root last year, a reliable source at the local district court said yesterday.

The court has handled eight cases related to counterfeiting involving 18 suspects over the last six months, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Last year, the court only tried two such cases.

"If a small city like Bogor has such a big counterfeiting problem, you can imagine how much counterfeit money is circulating in major cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Denpasar."

On Wednesday, the court sentenced seven people to between one year and two years in prison for circulating bogus money. They were arrested while in possession of 606 Rp 20,000 banknotes.

The defendants accepted the sentence but prosecutor Razali Hanafiah, who had sought four years imprisonment for each, believed it was "too light" and has appealed the decision.

Separately, Widodo, an employer of a Jakarta-based cigarette company, reported that the amount of counterfeit money his firm had received was on the rise.

"We identify an average of Rp 100,000 in counterfeit banknotes every week," he said. (24)