Dili turns into gambling den

Dili turns into gambling den

DILI, East Timor: A senior local politician attacked the government yesterday for turning a blind eye to rampant gambling in the province.

Manuel Carrascalao, a member of the provincial legislative council, said that many government and military officials were involved in illegal gambling.

It is widely understood that officials have, over the past five days, been crowding the second floor of a major hotel in Dili in order to gamble, which is a criminal offense in the country.

"It's high time that the government took punitive action against officials who are involved in gambling. Every citizen should be treated equally before the law," Carrascalao said.

A reliable source said the illicit activity's turnover reaches several million rupiah every day. (yac)