Monday, December 18, 2006

Six Palu municipal councillors were arrested Thursday and charged with
gambling. Police arrested the suspects in a hotel room and seized Rp 225,000
(US$25) in cash and playing cards. The councillors are being held for
questioning at Palu Police Headquarters. Officers identified the suspects as
Yos Sudarso, chairman of the Democrat Party in Palu, Arifin Labanu (Democrat
Party), Andi Indra Adil, Paharuddin Sumang and Aswandi (Golkar Party), and
Revi Arifin Pasau (National Concern Party). Police were acting on an
anonymous tip that a group of city councillors were gambling in a room at
the Sentral Hotel in South Palu. Palu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Atrial
initially declined to comment on the arrests, but on Friday said police were
investigating the case and that the suspects would not receive any
preferential treatment. The chairman of the Golkar Regional Executive Board
in Palu, Rusdi Mastura, told The Jakarta Post he had asked police to handle
the case as they would any other criminal matter.