Indonesian trance club threatened with closure

Indonesian trance club threatened with closure

INDONESIA - It is considered the most notorious nightclub in Jakarta.

Stadium, in West Jakarta, has long been infamous for rampant drug use and prostitution.

Jakarta's acting governor, Mr Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, has ordered the club to be shut following the drug-related death of a police officer on Friday.

Mr Basuki said his administration had coordinated with the National Police's criminal investigation division to investigate the case.

He said that he had warned the management of the nightclub to stamp out drug use in its premises, the Jakarta Globe reported.

"This is outrageous," the governor said, "We warned them we would shut them down if they were caught a second time. Now we have really got them."

A Jakarta police spokesman said the police officer from North Sulawesi, Jicky Vay Gumerung, 22, died after visiting Stadium on Friday afternoon.

An autopsy found ecstasy and methamphetamine in his system.

Said the spokesman: "Four police officers (the victim and three others) were undergoing training at West Java. They had four days off, so they went to the nightclub during the weekend."

Newsportal Tempo.co reported that his three colleagues have allegedly tested positive for drugs and had been detained pending a handover to the police's internal affairs division.

HUNT FOR SOURCE

The police are still investigating how the drugs got into the hands of the police officers, the Jakarta Post reported.

Stadium is reportedly owned by veteran nightclub businessman Rudi Rajamas, believed to be the owner of many spas across Indonesia's capital as well as of a new nightclub, Exodus.

Stadium, which opened in the 1990s, plays mostly trance music. It has a huge dance floor and dozens of private rooms with karaoke sets, available for rent round the clock.

The incident involving the police officer is not the first drugs-related fatality linked to Stadium.

In January 2012, policeman Afriyani Susanti drove under the influence of drugs and alcohol, killing nine pedestrians in central Jakarta and wounding another four.

The drugs he took were allegedly bought from an individual inside the club though the police did not expand their investigation into the origin of the drugs. Mr Afriyani was sentenced to 15 years' jail last August for reckless driving and four years for drug abuse.

This article was published on May 21 in The New Paper.

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