Police call on media to help fight gambling
Police call on media to help fight gambling
JAKARTA (JP): A senior police officer urged local media to
assist the police in efforts to abolish the mushrooming number of
gambling dens in the capital instead of assisting the operators
in spreading the social disease.
"We totally disagree with certain advertisements in the media
which publish the results of judi buntut," Jakarta Police
spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said on Wednesday, referring to
a game which has become a favorite among the city's gamblers.
The publication of such ads helps boost the operation of the
illegal business because it attracts more gamblers, Lubis told
The Jakarta Post.
"Besides, it makes it easy for gamblers to learn the latest
results of the game," he added.
The police have not yet decided whether the published
advertisements can be classified as a criminal case, Lubis said.
"We welcome legal experts to give their opinions whether such
advertisements in the press can be categorized as criminal
actions," he added.
Lubis said he contacted Sinar Pagi daily concerning the
matter, but he could do nothing because of uncertainty over the
legal aspects of the matter.
The daily, controlled by businessman Nirwan Bakrie, brother of
Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, reportedly has run a number of advertisements
publishing the results of various judi buntut games since Jan. 10
this year.
The advertisements give the latest results of the games, their
respective operators and a short message from the operators.
Operators' names usually obscure the true nature of the ads.
Some of the operators use names such as Zodiak Club, Klub
Fortuna, Ahli Nujum, Sempurna, To-Kam and Hoki.
When asked to comment on the publication of the ads, Roji, an
employee in the advertising department at Sinar Pagi, told the
Post all advertisers of such ads refused to reveal their
identities.
"We just accept their orders," he said without further
explanation.
"Some advertisers run such ads three days a week, while others
put the ads in two days a week," he said, adding that each ad
cost Rp 200,000.
A number of judi buntut operators are located on the first and
second floors of the Senen Inpres market in Central Jakarta.
On Wednesday, for example, Sempurna's office, located in the
Bintang Kejora coffee shop on the top floor of the market, was
packed with people.
Lubis said police recently arrested six gambling operators in
West and Central Jakarta.
"As soon as we arrive at the gambling sites, the sites are
closed."
Lubis said that Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho
Djajusman had ordered police precinct chiefs across Jakarta to
crack down on gambling operations. (01)