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