Police stage half-hearted war agains gambling
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The following is the second in a series of reports on gambling in the capital, which despite being illegal is a common activity here.
Although National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar announced a war on gambling on April 5 last year, there has been no apparent change in the amount of money being bet.
While it is generally acknowledged that gambling is widespread in Jakarta, the records show the police have raided few gambling dens and have arrested few people on gambling charges.
So far this year, the Jakarta Police have raided one big gambling den in Taman Palem, West Jakarta. The raid took place in February and none of the main people behind the den were arrested.
"I do not think the police are serious .... I once gave them a list of the location of gambling dens, which they might already have had. But nothing happened," Saman Subekti, who, together with his friends, monitors gambling in the capital, told The Jakarta Post.
"I suspect that several police officers are cooperating with the gambling den bosses. Everybody knows the police get something from them," he said.
Rumors have circulated among gamblers that several high- ranking police officers receive billions of rupiah from gambling den owners every month for protection.
On several occasions, city police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani denied reports that gambling dens were operating in the capital, claiming the police had investigated and found no evidence to prove the claims.
"We check reports about gambling that we receive from the public but have found nothing. Give us accurate information and we will bust the gamblers," he said.
A senior officer at Jakarta Police Headquarters, who asked not to be identified, said eradicating gambling would be impossible without the support of top officers.
"It is a game for the generals. We cannot do anything unless they stop protecting the gambling dens. That is why we are kind of reluctant to touch any gambling cases because we know certain officers must be protecting them," the source told the Post.
The National Police have established a special squad led by a one-star general to deal with gambling at the national level, in coordination with local police departments. However, territorial disputes have hampered the efforts of this national squad to dig deeper into gambling at the regional level.
Rudy Satrio, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, highlighted the half-hearted efforts of the authorities to crack down on gambling.
"We already have adequate laws on gambling. What we lack is the law enforcement," he told the Post.
Under Article 303 of the Criminal Code and Article 2 of Law No. 7/1974 on revisions to the sanctions in the Criminal Code, convicted gambling operators and gamblers could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a Rp 25,000 fine.