Two PDI-P councillors arrested for gambling
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Two members of the West Java legislative council, Tato Hartarto and Arman Koharman, were arrested for gambling at a house on Jl. Banda in Bandung, police said on Friday.
Bandung Police chief Sr. Comr. Hendra Sukmana confirmed the two councillors had been arrested at about 10 p.m. on Thursday.
He said police were questioning the two suspects, both members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which also listed the pair as legislative candidates for the upcoming elections.
The two were arrested along with another PDI-P legislative candidate, Dodi Rosadi, who owned the house on Jl. Banda, Hendra said.
Responding to the arrests, the chairman of PDI-P's West Java branch, Rudi Harsa Tanaya, said his party was considering removing Tato, Arman and Dodi from its list of legislative candidates because of this matter.
"We are discussing the case with the West Java General Elections Commission (KPUD), exploring the possibility of withdrawing the nominations of these candidates," Rudi said in Bandung on Friday.
KPUD chairman Setia Permana said political parties were allowed to remove candidates from their lists, but must first file an official request with his office.
"It (the withdrawal of a legislative nomination) is possible because of the credibility problem of the candidates concerned," he said.
Rudi said his party was also seeking clarification from the Bandung Wetan Police on the chronology of the arrests of the three men.
"Police became suspicious of the house on Jl. Banda because lots of cars were parked out front. They then entered the house and found four people playing cards there, three of them our members.
"It needs to be verified whether they were gambling. But the fact is that they were taken to the local police station before being allowed to go home," Rudi said.
Officer Hendra denied there were any political motives behind the arrests of the three PDI-P legislative candidates.
"There is no link to their positions as councillors or politicians. This is the law and everybody is equal before the law."
Hendra said the police did not need to obtain permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs to question Arman and Tato even though the two are councillors.
"They two were caught committing a crime," he said.
However, Hendra said his office would report the arrests of the two PDI-P councillors to Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.
The suspects could be charged under Article 303 of the Criminal Code on gambling, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a Rp 25 million (US$2,976) fine.
West Java legislative council speaker Eka Santoso said he had not been notified of the arrests of the two councillors.
Eka was quoted by Antara as saying he was checking with the local police to confirm the report.