Mayor scrambles for explanation

Mayor scrambles for explanation

BATAM, Riau: The mayor of Batam, Nyat Kadir, said on Tuesday that he did not know that a man who helped him and other officials welcome guests from Jakarta, was the boss of Sie Jie gambling in Batam.

The Singaporean businessman, identified only as H, was seen among those greeting the important guests from Jakarta at Batam's Hang Nadim Airport. H even provided the guests with rooms at the Novotel Hotel and with luxury sedans to travel around the industrial city.

Earlier this month, dozens of youths demonstrated outside the mayoral office, demanding that Kadir ban the Sie Jie lottery activities in Batam, which have allegedly been run by H through his brother, known only as J.

It was unclear whether Kadir would order H to close his gambling center after he found out about the businessman's identity. --Antara