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.