Police lose big catch in fight against gambling
Police lose big catch in fight against gambling
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police vice officers were forced to concede that they had not fared very well in the recent push against gambling, as they had only arrested a few small fries, while the big sharks were still free.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boedihardjo said on Tuesday that most of the big gambling casinos took a short hiatus after the gambling crackdown was announced, making it difficult for officers to catch them in the act.
Article 303 of the Criminal Code stipulates that it requires players, evidence and the bet available in order to arrest gambling operators.
"Therefore, police will look for other ways to catch the big bosses. Maybe we will crack down on them under the money laundering regulation," Aryanto explained during a news conference on the week-long clampdown on gambling ordered by new National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.
Police officers, Aryanto said, would also cooperate with local administrations to target buildings and homes, which have been turned into gambling dens.
Aryanto claimed there had been no solid proof so far of the involvement of military or police officers in the gambling business, despite widespread public speculation.
"But the National Police chief has promised to hand down heavy punishment for any police officer who is proven to back gambling," Aryanto stated.
During the nationwide anti-gambling operation conducted from July 11 to July 16, officers discovered 334 gaming enterprises and arrested 1,035 suspects in 15 provinces.
North Sumatra topped the list with 71 cases and 96 suspects, followed by West Sumatra with 70 cases and 306 suspects and Jakarta with 48 cases and 212 suspects.
There had been no cases found so far in East Nusa Tenggara and Aceh, Aryanto added.
The type of gambling activities included cockfighting, numbers games, cards, dice, billiards and slot machines.
On his first day in office on July 11, Gen. Sutanto ordered all regional police chiefs to eradicate gambling activities in their respective areas within a week.
Sutanto got the House of Representatives' nod for the top police job partly because of his persistent fight against gambling while serving as the police chief in North Sumatra and later East Java.
Provincial or municipal police chiefs who failed to comply with the order would face legal consequences, while police chiefs who were unable to clean up their respective areas within a certain period would be reprimanded and likely be fired. Each regional police chief had signed a "contract" with Sutanto to achieve the purpose.
Sutanto's order came amid allegations that 14 regional police chiefs protected gambling operations.
Despite the numbers of cases and arrests, there has been a widespread skepticism from most people and the media.
Known gambling areas such as those in West Jakarta, reportedly with billions of rupiah bet each day, for instance, have rarely been raided, although, according to observers, police have already identified the big bosses in the capital.
Gambling carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail.