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Two Aceh village heads arrested for alleged gambling
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A man stands in front of officers before being caned for gambling outside Al Munawaroh Mosque in Jantho, Aceh Besar regency, Aceh, on Friday. Despite being Buddhist, two people who were recently caught participating in cockfighting opted for caning as punishment instead of facing criminal charges. (Antara/Ampelsa)
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ceh's Lhokseumawe Police arrested on Saturday nine alleged gamblers — including two village heads and a village official — at a food stall in Blang Raya village in Muara Dua district, Lhokseumawe.
Comr. Ahzan, coordinator of the Lhokseumawe Police's "star team," said the arrests were based on reports from nearby residents who claimed that the food stall had been doubling as a gambling den.
"The team walked for 50 meters to prevent their arrival from being noticed by the gamblers," Ahzan said as quoted by kompas.com.
(Read also: Calls for tolerance spark controversy in Aceh)
The two village heads are identified as MH, 40, from Kuta Makmur district in North Aceh; and SA, 34, from West Baktiya district, also in North Aceh. An administrative official from a village in Kuta Makmur identified as DA, 34, was also arrested.
"We confiscated seven boxes of domino cards, two decks of playing cards and cash worth Rp 11.8 million [US$ 887.35]," Ahzan said, adding that police also seized their belongings, which included six wallets, six cellular phones and four motorbikes.
Ahzan said the suspects had been taken to the Lhokseumawe Police precinct for further investigation.
Gambling is prohibited under Aceh’s sharia law, with violators sentenced to public canings as punishment. (yon/bbs)
