'Criminals end up living in luxurious cells'

'Criminals end up living in luxurious cells'

The dumping of smuggled sugar in the sea has elicited various
reactions from the public. The government has declared that the
sugar will be dumped and not auctioned in the hope that such
drastic action will curb the smuggling that has hurt the
country's sugarcane farmers and the sugar industry. The Jakarta
Post talked to few residents about the issue.

Fikri Ribowo, 42, is a taxi driver. He lives with his family
in the Duren Tiga area of South Jakarta:

It is a terrible waste to dump such massive amounts of sugar.
I cannot understand why the government cannot find a less
insensitive way of curbing the influx of smuggled goods into the
country, not just sugar.

What this country need is strict law enforcement. I never
believe it when officials say they cannot identify the culprits
as smuggling is a big crime that is only capable of being
committed by those with big bucks who are backed by the officials
themselves.

We have witnessed how arrogant the law enforcers are against
students and petty criminals. But what do they do against big-
time criminals, such as the corrupt officials and unscrupulous
businesspeople? Even if these criminals are put to jail, they end
up living in luxury, VIP cells.

Sanderson Svendpri, 30, is a freelance producer. He lives with
his pregnant wife in Rawamangun, East Jakarta:

There is the issue about why the sugar was able to be
smuggled. But the fact is, it has arrived here. Why don't we just
use it? Many people need it.

It might decrease the price of sugar on the market. Imported
sugar is always cheaper than local sugar, and this shows that
there is something wrong with the system.

Although I don't have much proof about this, I think local
sugar is more expensive because there are lots of extra fees to
be paid. Smuggled sugar is cheaper, maybe, because it goes
through fewer hands than the legal sugar.

--The Jakarta Post