Indonesian police destroy porn films and booze

January 14, 2005

Police in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, have destroyed more than 4,000 pirated pornographic video compact discs (VCDs) and 10,000 bottles of alcohol, in what was seen as yet another token crackdown on vice, rather than an effort to eliminate video piracy and the sale of dubious quality liquor.

The 4,057 saucy VCDs, seized from vendors in Cikarang, were displayed at Bekasi Police headquarters and then crushed with steamrollers on Thursday (13/1/05), state news agency Antara reported.

Bekasi Police chief Djoko Hartanto said officers had apprehended three vendors of pornographic VCDS and detained them for questioning. "We will not tolerate the circulation of hard core pornographic VCDs in Bekasi. The perpetrators will be dragged to court and given the appropriate punishment," he added.

He said the three traders – Rusly Choe alias Aseng, Hendramon Okayta and Nurfaisal Sikumbang – were caught at Lippo Cikarang Mall and Pasimal Market.

The Antara report did not say why police had not bothered to go after the main distributors and producers of the pirated VCDs.

Hartanto urged members of the public with any knowledge of vendors of pornography to come forward to police. He said police would protect the names and addresses of any informants.

Antara reported that police displayed and destroyed 10,566 bottles of various types of alcohol seized during various raids on traders in Bekasi. Among the steamrolled booze were bottles of vodka, white wine, ginseng spirit and Topi Miring brand spirits.

"We appeal to drinks traders not to sell alcohol, let alone strong alcoholic drinks, because they have a impact on the health of consumers,” said Hartanto.

The destruction of the pornography and alcohol was witnessed by local legislators, Muslim preachers and hundreds of curious locals.

Alcohol is not illegal in Indonesia – except in staunchly Islamic Aceh province – although its sale is restricted in most major cities during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan.

Since the implementation of regional autonomy legislation in 2001, several provincial and regional administrations have enacted local laws against alcoholic drinks. But local beers and cheap local spirits generally remain available in such areas.

Sales of local spirits, some of which have an alcoholic content of 40%, have reportedly increased over recent years – partly due to rising stress levels and higher excise on imported spirits.

Pornography is illegal in Indonesia but pirated pornographic films – usually Western titles of varying quality – are widely available due to police corruption and poor law enforcement.

In addition to periodically destroying pornography and alcohol, authorities also hold occasional symbolic ceremonies to burn drugs – which are also widely available due to alleged police complicity.

Jakarta’s regular marijuana users report a recent influx of high quality marijuana to the city – unusual given that much of the capital’s ganja comes from tsunami-ravaged Aceh province.

Government officials and police regularly make public calls for an end to the drugs trade and the rampant violation of intellectual property rights, copyrights and patents, but law enforcement remains poor.

Illegal duplication of music, videos, computer software and books is rife in Indonesia. Offenders are rarely arrested, let alone jailed. In recent years, Indonesia has seen a surge in the number of optical disc production facilities – used to copy films, music and software.

The capacity of these facilities far exceeds Indonesia’s domestic demand, indicating the country has a thriving export base for pirated films, music and software. Indonesia can produce 200 million units of discs annually, whereas domestic demand stands at only 15 million units.

Pornographic VCDs sell for as little as Rp2000 (22 cents) at some stalls in Glodok, West Jakarta. Pirated digital video discs are more pricey, starting at about Rp4,000 a title.

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