Why were police in the theater

Why were police in the theater

From Media Indonesia

Last June 7, after office hours I saw the movie Philadelphia at the Empire-21 in Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta. But to my surprise, while the audience was watching the film, suddenly the screen flashed the message: "Sorry, policemen will inspect this room." And in a few seconds about 20 policemen entered the theater.

No doubt, the audience was quite astonished and curious as to whether dangerous criminals were sitting among us.

With their fierce faces, the policemen stared us down one by one. We all did not exactly understand what they were doing until three teenagers under the age of 17 were asked to leave.

Although the film was re-started after a 10-minute delay, the incident detracted from my enjoyment of watching the film.

I understand that the government is concerned about the negative impact of global information on teenagers because if they have money they can freely see blue or violent films at theaters, or on laser discs and videotapes.

But my question is why did the policemen not search the audience before they entered the theater? Why should the police employ 20 personnel just to inspect kids?

Is this the way policemen show their concern about the age limitations of the audience? If the answer is yes, will they enforce similar actions on the television stations, laser disc and video rental outlets?

SETYA DHARMA SP

Bandung, West Java