Entertainment spots warned

JAKARTA (JP): The deputy governor of administrative affairs, Idroes, has threatened to punish nightspots involved in drug trafficking.

Idroes was speaking Tuesday in response to the rising number of alleged drug dealers and illegally workers arrested in recent police raids on Jakarta nightspots.

"The municipality will closely coordinate with related offices to monitor nightspots," Idroes said.

He said nightspots, including those violating operating hours, would be monitored closely by the city public order office and related offices, including the city military command .

He said stricter punishment was needed to stop the spread of drug trafficking.

Nightclubs and discotheques can open from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m, sauna parlors from 9 a.m. to midnight, massage parlors from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and pinball centers from 10 a.m. to midnight.

On Saturday, police arrested an alleged drug dealer, identified as TWT, alias A Chi, with 342 Ecstasy pills worth at least Rp 3 million, at a nightspot in West Jakarta.

Previously, the police arrested 11 Taiwanese women for violating immigration regulations by working as karaoke guides in West Jakarta's Raja Mas nightspot.

Jakarta has 317 bars, 97 karaoke bars, 139 discotheques, and 10 nightclubs. (ste)