Thu, 02 Aug 2001

'No sex business in Monas, please'

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has pledged to properly manage the area around Monas, which is currently disorganized and has become a hot spot for the sex industry.

Dozens of cafes in the area will be closed down and the area will also be cleared of street vendors, according to Abdul Kahfi, deputy governor for administrative affairs.

He alleged that cafes were being used for trading alcohol and soliciting sex.

"When the economic crisis hit the country (in 1997) we allowed those cafes to be set up and run by jobless people until the economy recovered," he said. (04)