Police declare war on pornography
Police declare war on pornography
JAKARTA (JP): City police have declared war against
pornographic material and sex aids sold at clandestine shops.
They urge the public to assist by giving information on the
whereabouts of shops selling such items.
"We all know those things benefit only greedy traders without
a thought of the impact on the public, particularly teenagers,"
head of the Operational Affairs Unit of the On-the-Alert City
Police Squad Capt. Syaiful Bd. told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
According to him, the increasing number of pornography either
in magazines, calendars, laser discs or computer diskettes, and
sex aids being sold clandestinely in and around the city could be
reduced further "if the public and all related parties really
wanted to do so."
"It's an easy job, as long as all of us play a positive role
in our raids," said Syaiful, who often personally leads raids
against various crimes.
Information
The public, for instance, could provide information on places
believed to sell pornographic items, he said.
"We absolutely believe that those things can badly tear down
all norms of our society," he explained.
The latest raid, conducted by Syaiful's team, was against
three drug stores, which were allegedly sex shops, on Jl. Dewi
Sartika, East Jakarta, on Friday evening.
"We received information from the public and directly ordered
our teams, code named Walet (Swallow), to locate and monitor the
places," he said.
Later, Syaiful and his officers in plainclothes surveyed the
shops by posing as potential customers.
During the raid at Caseng, Patent and Aseng drug stores, the
police detained all shop attendants and seized hundreds of sex
aids, ranging from oil stimulants, capsules and stimulators. The
merchandise was priced between Rp 30,000 (US$13.80) and Rp
100,000.
None of the shop owners were arrested due to their whereabouts
being unknown.
The three shop attendants are in police custody and will be
further questioned.
No definite information could be gained about the source of
the articles, but many believe most of the items are smuggled
into the city by the crew of local and foreign ships and planes.
"We just hope the case can be tried soon in order to teach a
lesson to others," Syaiful concluded. (bsr)