New chief for city prosecutors

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih installed Sidharta Tjokrowarsito yesterday as the new chief of the Jakarta provincial prosecutor's office, replacing Djenal Achmad.

Djenal has been promoted to the position of secretary to the attorney general's deputy for intelligence.

In his address, Singgih urged the new chief and his subordinates to give more priority to upholding the environmental law.

"The environment can become a big and serious problem in big cities like Jakarta. Polluting the environment is no longer an administrative violation, but a criminal act," Singgih said.

He said such action could cause public unrest, which in the end could endanger the country's economy.

Singgih also said as Jakarta became a more modernized big city, new types of crime were emerging. "Organized crime, money laundering, property rights violations and drug trafficking are crimes which are occurring in Jakarta," he said.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja and Jakarta City Council speaker M.H. Ritonga, as well as other high-ranking officials. (yns)