Police stage half-hearted war agains gambling
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.