Police face hurdles in anti-gambling drive

Police face hurdles in anti-gambling drive

JAKARTA (JP): City Police have admitted that they face serious difficulties in their efforts to stop gambling.

"Frankly, we have known the precise locations of many large- scale gambling dens in this city for a long time ago, but there is more to a police raid than storming the arena and arresting the suspects," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko said yesterday.

Police have to collect strong evidence in order to make a successful prosecution case, the police officer said.

Bambang, a former city police detective, said that in his experience many of the gambling dens, mostly located in North and West Jakarta, were equipped with sophisticated modern protection equipment, were accessible only via complicated entry routes and were guarded by professional bodyguards.

In some cases the den operator only allowed listed members to enter the area under special sign codes, he said.

"Walls or gates heading to the gambling dens are operated, for instance, by remote control systems, which prevent police officers from getting into the arena easily," Bambang said.

At some dens, players have to park their car quite a distance away before taking a complicated trip to the camouflaged location, he said.

One of the various factors that frustrate the city police is the failure of the courts to pass harsh sentences on those convicted of gambling offenses.

The recent decision of the West Jakarta district court to clear seven people, including a noted figure of a powerful organization, of gambling charges, has caused deep dissatisfaction among police.

"We're not assuming anything," said Bambang at that time. "But the question is: how can he be acquitted of the charges?"

After a long trial for gambling, Yorrys Raweyai, an executive of the powerful Pemuda Pancasila youth organization, and his six accomplices were acquitted on all charges on Monday.

The controversial judgment was read by presiding Justice Ismail Sebayang.

Bambang said that bribery was another important factor making police raids on gambling rings difficult.

Although local authorities had once again taken up the fight against gambling, illegal gambling businesses were flourishing in Jakarta, he said. (bsr)