Rp 33b needed to close brothel

Rp 33b needed to close brothel

JAKARTA: The city administration announced on Tuesday that it
would need Rp 33 billion (US$3.3 million) for the acquisition of
1.6 hectares of land occupied by the illegal Boker brothel in
Ciracas, East Jakarta, which would be closed on public demand.

"We hope that the land acquisition can start in the middle of
this year," East Jakarta Mayoralty Secretary Ismet S. Hasan said
after a hearing with the City Council Commission E for Social
Welfare Affairs.

Ismet said a small soccer stadium would be built on the land,
where a brothel was established in 1956 by a local resident named
Boker and his brother Keong.

He revealed there were at present 300 prostitutes and 15 pimps
that owned 15 houses in the complex.

The closure of the brothel had been planned for years but
could not be carried out as it was believed to be backed by
certain military officers.

"If necessary, you can ask the Army's Special Force (Kopassus)
commander to close the brothel," Councillor Tadjus Sobirin of the
Golkar Party told the mayor.

The brothel is located near the Special Force Headquarters in
Cijantung. -- JP