Police pledge to continue war against alcohol
JAKARTA (JP): City Police have vowed to continue battling the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages at shops and stalls in and around the city.
"We will never stop such crackdowns in order to curb excessive use of liquor by young people and reduce the number of alcohol- related crimes," head of the Operational Affairs unit of the On- the-Alert City Police Squad Capt. Syaiful Bd. told reporters here yesterday.
The 24-hour team assigned to the operation "really need the help of the public to get information about the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages here," he added.
Syaiful said that he would never be deterred by the fact that many military and police personnel back the traders.
"Everyone is equal before the law," he said.
Massive crackdowns have been carried out since April this year, especially after the killing of a 54-year-old army brigadier general on April 4.
Brig. Gen. Tampubolon, former group commander of one of Indonesian Armed Forces' (ABRI) four elite red beret Kopassus corps, was brutally stabbed by a group of young men that had been drinking prior to the murder on Jl. Griya Wartawan in Cipinang Muara, East Jakarta, at around 10 p.m. on April 4.
Since the massive operation, hundreds of thousands of brandname liquors have been confiscated.
Syaiful's seven teams, codenamed the Walet (Swallow) Squad, have been broken into eight-member teams.
The latest operation was conducted on Thursday evening at Toko Cahaya on Jl. Sumur Batu No. 20, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
"We seized 344 bottles in just one single raid," Saiful said. Shop owner Mrs. Sariyem, 38, was not detained for further questioning.
"She sold the liquor without a license," the officer said.
Producers
Producers of the confiscated alcohols are predominately located in the Bogor-based PT Suba Indah manufacturing and PT Perindustrian Bapak Djenggot in Tangerang in West Java.
Some of the liquors confiscated were Drum whisky, Mansion House whisky, Mansion House vodka, Mansion House dry gin and Savoy Club whisky, all of which are produced by PT Suba Indah.
The others were Robinson Whiteport whisky produced by PT Gunungmas Santosoraya, Big Boss whisky by CV Sumber Baru Industri in Tangerang, Mc Donald Jenever by Industri Semak in Tangerang and Arak cap Orang Tua whisky (small and big bottles) and Arak Beras Cap Kilin both by PT Perindustrian Bapak Djenggot.
Indonesian authorities place alcoholic beverages into three classes, according to the percentage of alcohol contained. The A- class contains up to five percent alcohol and includes beer. B- class drinks contain from five to 20 percent, and C-class liquor is 20 percent or more.
Traders need licenses from the authorities to sell B-class and C-class beverages.
Religious leaders concerned over the growing influence of alcohol on the world's largest Moslem community consistently have called for a ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks.
Moslems make up about 85 percent of the country's 185 million people. Indonesians under 16 years of age are lawfully forbidden to buy liquor but many purchase alcoholic drinks sold illegally by the roadside. (bsr)