Gambling lord Taslim Bianti gets 8 months
JAKARTA (JP): The North Jakarta District court sentenced 22 people involved in illegal gambling, including its lord, Taslim Bianti, to between three and eight months imprisonment yesterday.
"Based on all facts revealed before the court, I decided to sentence Taslim to eight months in jail," said presiding judge Surti Hari Pramono.
Meanwhile prosecutor, H.P.W. Soekewi, who had demanded a one year sentence, said that she will use the 14 days allowed by law to consider whether to file an appeal.
According to existing law, gamblers caught red handed face maximum imprisonment of four years or a maximum fine of Rp 10 million (US$4,600) if convicted. A person found illegally operating a gambling place faces a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of Rp 25 million (US$11,478).
Taslim and his 20 employees were among 238 people apprehended on June 11 at the aptly named Lucky Plaza building on Jl. Pluit Indah Jaya by a 40-strong Operation Cleansing team from the Jakarta Chapter of the Agency for the Support of National Stability (Bakorstanasda Jaya).
Of the total, five are Malaysians, one a Hong Kong national and another Taiwanese. The remaining 231 suspects are Indonesians, mostly of Chinese descent. Included among them are two newspaper reporters and two lawyers.
Police later freed 56 of them, including the journalists and lawyers, saying that they were merely onlookers, and had not been taking part in the gambling activities at the time of the raid.
Police later released the remaining gamblers, including five pregnant women, on bail. The 22 people whom police believe to have been operators of the gambling den are still being detained.
Tabs
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochamad Hindarto said earlier that to anticipate the matter he had assigned the special Babinkamtibmas police patrol to keep tabs on the gamblers who were released on bail.
In the second session, Presiding Judge Surti Hari Pramono sentenced Syafrizal, a cashier, Suharno, a cashier's assistant, Johan Pek Mo, the den's supervisor, each to four months imprisonment.
In the third session Surti sentenced Guan An, the owner of the 400-square-meter room in Lucky Plaza rented by Taslim to six months.
Meanwhile in another session Presiding Judge Akib Lasangke sentenced nine of Taslim's assistants: Beni Jaya, Ali Akbar, Kho Kim Hong, Samidin Santoso, Hadiwijaya, Khow Hok Lie, Lucas Siwu, Irwanto and Eng Hok An to four months imprisonment each.
Judge Akib also sentenced both Tati Suryati and Esther Irawati, two women who began working for Taslim the day before the raid, to three months and seven days.
In the last session, Presiding Judge Thomas Sumardi sentenced Tjau Liang, Ah Wa and She Lie to four months in jail while Riyadi and Eddy Ak Yat got five months.
All of those detained since June 12 accepted the verdicts.(03)